Executive Summary
The University of Saskatchewan embarked on Integrated
Planning in November 2001 when President MacKinnon
first presented the initial draft of Renewing the Dream,
the Strategic Directions document, to a group of over
150 members of the University community (faculty,
members of Council committees, deans, department
heads, staff, members of Senate, representatives of government, and students) at a Saturday planning forum.
Over the next five months the Strategic Directions were
developed and refined with the benefit of several meetings and discussions involving more than 750 members
of the University community. They were approved by all
three governing bodies of the University in April/May
2002.
A series of Foundational Documents, discussed in the
Provost’s White Paper on Integrated Planning (2002),
have also been developed in a number of strategic
areas. Beginning in the fall of 2002 colleges and
administrative units began developing their plans for
delivery to the University community by the summer
of 2003. In November 2003, the task of review and
evaluation of college and administrative unit plans
began in earnest. University Council created the College
Planning Review Committee (CPRC) which assessed
individual plans, identified cross-cutting themes, and
assisted with the development of the University-level
plan. The Administrative Committee on Integrated
Planning (ACIP), comprised mainly of the Associate
Vice-Presidents of the University, contributed primarily
to identifying ways in which administrative practices
could be changed or streamlined.
This Integrated Plan builds on all of this work. It synthesizes the ideas presented in a host of documents and
identifies areas that will be the focus of attention during
the first four year planning cycle, 2003/04 to 2006/07.
The plan is inspired by an emphasis on change, community, and collaboration. It begins with a consideration of core themes (Section A) that have emerged in
the college and unit plans and their subsequent consideration in Council. These themes include the impact of
Systematic Program Review (SPR), the need to achieve
critical mass in our programming, the obvious appeal of
interdisciplinary work as a spur to innovation, and the
importance of making the most of our limited resources.
The Integrated Plan describes a series of strategic initiatives (Section B) in the areas of health; science, technology, and society; environment; business and entrepreneurship; extending community; and public policy
which address our sense of place within Saskatchewan,
Canada, and the world. The emphasis on community,
on change, and on collaboration is particularly evident
in this part of the plan. Significant programmatic and
organizational change is outlined. New degrees in the
health sciences, new programs in business, new centres
in environmental studies, and a new School of Public
Policy are among the projects proposed This section
concludes with a tentative outline of the commitments
that must be made to ensure that these initiatives come
to fruition within this planning cycle.
The Plan also describes, in Section C, a series of investments which are geared to ensure that we provide
faculty and students with essential supports. On the
student side, the major focus is on financial support at
the undergraduate and graduate level. But our efforts
will extend beyond financial support to retaining students and preparing them for success in the knowledge
age. On the faculty side, the document outlines a
continued on page 3. . .
1
INSIDE
Introduction .............................................. 3
A. Core Themes .......................................... 4
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Adherence to the Strategic Directions and
Foundational Documents ......................................4
The Effect of Systematic Program Review ..................5
Innovation, Flexibility, & Interdisciplinary
Programming ....................................................5
Critical Mass .....................................................5
Pathways for Students .........................................5
Effective Use of Limited Resources ..........................5
B. Strategic Initiatives .................................. 6
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Our Sense of Place..............................................6
Health ...........................................................7
Science, Technology, & Society ............................ 10
Environment ................................................... 12
Business & Entrepreneurship................................ 13
Extending Community........................................ 15
Public Policy ................................................... 18
Commitments ................................................. 19
C. Supporting Success ................................. 20
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Investing in Students ......................................... 20
Investing in Research & Teaching Support ................ 25
E. Enriching the Physical Environment ............. 36
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Governance Model for Major Projects ..................... 37
Major Building Projects ...................................... 37
Other Potential Major Projects ............................. 40
Deferred Maintenance ....................................... 40
University Infrastructure Needs ............................ 40
ICT Systems Renewal ......................................... 40
F. Measuring our Progress ............................. 41
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Responsibility Assignments for Implementation
of the Integrated Plan ....................................... 41
Performance Measures ....................................... 42
Benchmarking ................................................. 42
Integration of Assessment ................................... 43
Evaluation of Integrated Planning Itself .................. 43
G. Changing Structures ............................... 44
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Interdisciplinary Programming.............................. 44
Faculty Appointments ........................................ 44
Raise the Profile of Student Issues ......................... 45
College Configuration ........................................ 45
Academic-Administrative Cooperation .................... 45
Conclusion .............................................. 46
D. Changing Practices ................................. 29
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Graduate Funding Allocations............................... 29
Tuition & Fees ................................................ 30
International Services........................................ 31
Enrolment Incentives & Revenue Enhancements ........ 31
Faculty Position Management............................... 32
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Assignment of Duties & Recognition of
Graduate Teaching............................................ 32
Addressing Low Enrolments ................................. 32
Managing Classroom Resources & Timetables ........... 33
Human Resource Management .............................. 33
Increasing Cost Recoveries .................................. 34
Increasing Research Contract Recoveries& Revenues ... 34
Managing Student Registration & Fees .................... 35
Standardizing Systems ....................................... 35
Maintaining the Campus Buildings & Grounds ............ 35
Outsourcing of Services ...................................... 35
Evaluation & Appropriate Use ofUniversity Assets ....... 36
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For an electronic copy of this Plan, related documents, and more information about Integrated Planning
and the University of Saskatchewan’s 2003–07 multi-year operating budget framework, go to:
www.usask.ca/vpacademic/integrated-planning
2
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
series of investments in research and teaching support.
Assistance in the preparation of grants, the management of intellectual property, and communication of
research accomplishments are all featured initiatives.
The document also proposes a new learning initiative
which expands and strengthens the mandate of the
Gwenna Moss Teaching and Learning Centre and promises to provide faculty with research opportunities in
this area.
Section D of the Integrated Plan identifies a series of
academic and administrative practices which must
be changed to ensure we make the best use of the
resources we have available to us. It recognizes that
in some quarters there is duplication of effort and that
addressing inefficiencies will allow a more effective use
of resources. Changes to academic and business practices are also focused on aligning our decision making
procedures with the goals of the Strategic Directions.
The joint consideration of academic and administrative
decision-making is made possible by the strong support
for Integrated Planning shown by an increasingly professional support staff.
Section E identifies our most advanced building projects
and the infrastructure supports required to sustain
a high quality student experience. It proposes some
methods to ensure accountability in the area of major
projects and a capacity to prioritize among our many
pressing needs. Section F suggests how we will measure
our success over this planning cycle in terms of the initiatives outlined in this Plan and against the goals of the
Strategic Directions. Much work remains to be done in
this area and we intend to draw on the efforts of sister
institutions as we develop performance indicators and
benchmarks. Section G discusses the need for structural
change. It suggests a number of starting points, including the need to organize and deliver interdisciplinary
programming and to provide more substantial opportunities to discuss student concerns.
This document must be read in the context of the fiscal
environment in which we find ourselves. One of the
benefits of Integrated Planning is that we are able to
take a longer view, using a multi-year timeframe, to
identify our sources of revenue and our priorities for
expenditure. Implementation of the initiatives contained
in this plan during this planning cycle will depend on
our ability to attract funding support from the provincial government and from other funding partners. This
document must be read, therefore, in the context of the
multi-year budget approved by the Board of Governors.
Many of the initiatives described in the Integrated Plan
are new, collaborative, activities among units, crossing colleges in many cases. However, the Integrated
Plan could not have even been contemplated without
the plans and initiatives developed in the colleges and
units. It builds on these initiatives and profiles selective collaborative initiatives that move the University
forward during this planning cycle. In 2006/07, as we
prepare for the second planning cycle we will have
another opportunity to identify priorities for development, to confirm existing priorities, and to build on
our accomplishments. In the meantime, this Integrated
Plan contains a series of critical initiatives and changes
in operating procedures which we believe are required
to place the University of Saskatchewan among distinguished universities in Canada and the world.
Introduction
The University of Saskatchewan has spent the last
two years considering its past, taking stock of the
present, and thinking about the future. The future
is captured in the document entitled Renewing the
Dream, also referred to as the Strategic Directions. That
document, crafted by the President and the University
community and endorsed by all of the University’s
governing bodies, outlines in bold terms the future of
the University. The University of Saskatchewan is to be
a major research university that serves the people of
the Province, provides a quality education to all of its
students, and supports the work of its faculty.
Having outlined four key objectives to help realize this
vision, the Strategic Directions left many critical implementation decisions for the Integrated Planning process.
This process has engaged the entire community for the
past two years. Guided by Renewing the Dream, and a
growing number of Foundational Documents, the colleges and administrative units have all fashioned plans
for the current planning cycle from 2003/04 – 2006/07.
These in turn have been subjected to scrutiny and criti-
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
3
cal comment, but in the end they have deeply informed
this first ever University-level plan.
This University-level plan draws disparate elements
together, identifies institutional priorities, and speaks
to the common concerns of faculty, students, and staff.
It does not address all of the issues and ideas that have
emerged in each of the college and unit plans. Many
of these are worthy projects which should, and can,
proceed without the imprimatur of this document. This
University-level plan has the ambitious task of speaking
to the entire institution and moving it toward the aspirations captured in Renewing the Dream.
Throughout this document there is an emphasis on
community, on change, and on collaboration. This
document has drawn inspiration from the ideal of
“Sense of Place” invoked in Renewing the Dream and
from the constant reminders in college and unit plans
that this University serves the people of the Province.
That ideal of service to the community is intentionally emphasized here. Change is emphasized as well.
We know that we must compete for students, faculty,
research support, and even attention. That means we
have to make changes to our programs, our practices,
and our organization. But we also know, in part
because our Systematic Program Review (SPR) process
has told us that we have many strong programs that
are currently serving, very effectively, our students
and our community. Change will occur, but it will be
selective and respectful of the great work that our colleagues are already engaged in. And we know that the
success of our efforts are greatly enhanced when we
work together to build critical mass for our activities,
when we acknowledge and include the work of others
from across the University, when we collaborate with
our colleagues both on campus and around the globe.
The theme of collaboration means that we advance the
University of Saskatchewan, not individual units or
departments, or programs.
This plan will require time to be implemented. Some
parts can become a reality very quickly. In fact, this
speed is required. Others will take until 2006/07, i.e.,
the entire planning cycle, and possibly beyond. At critical points, this plan must articulate with the Capital
Campaign the President is currently leading. Allowing
for slippages in details and design, all of the new initiatives, and all of the changed practices, should be in
place by 2007, the University’s one hundredth
anniversary.
A. Core Themes
Integrated Planning has given us a chance to share
with one another our perspectives on the future of
the University of Saskatchewan. Our University-wide
perspective has been formed around the Strategic
Directions and the Foundational Documents. The college and unit level perspectives have been expressed
in their individual plans and these have been critically
important in shaping this Integrated Plan. Where college and unit plans have been unable to capture the full
range of possibilities, other planning documents have
emerged from groups of faculty and staff.
All of this work has been shared, refined, and reviewed.
At the college and unit levels, many hours have been
spent fashioning plans and making compromises. At the
University level, the Council committees have carefully
reviewed the plans, offered judgments, and made suggestions.
Adherence to the Strategic
Directions and Foundational
Documents
Strong efforts have been made by all units to connect
their individual plans to the goals of Renewing the
Dream and the various Foundational Documents. These
documents commit us at the level of the institution;
that commitment has been translated into objectives
articulated at the college and unit levels. The University
community at large has sought to increase research
intensiveness, recruit and retain outstanding faculty,
expand graduate programming, respond to our sense
of place, and preserve the quality of the undergraduate experience at the University of Saskatchewan. The
University-level plan translates these ideas into concrete
programmatic and organizational changes.
Certain core themes have emerged:
4
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
The Effect of Systematic Program
Review
Many of the proposals for new directions in academic
planning have emerged from the process of Systematic
Program Review (SPR). The highly qualified, and
remarkably generous, reviewers who have visited the
University and assessed our programs over the past
five years have left their mark. Across the campus
colleges are reconsidering programs and practices and
looking for ways of innovating. Our planning efforts at
the college level would have been significantly weaker
without the guidance of this process. We have been
made aware, in this regard, that many of our programs
are very strong and could be made even stronger. That
is why the changes we are contemplating must be sure
to build on genuine institutional strength.
Innovation, Flexibility, and
Interdisciplinary Programming
While the college plans were initially cautious in their
commitment to interdisciplinary programming, Deans
and Council have drawn a number of possibilities
together to suggest ways in which the University of
Saskatchewan can better capitalize on its strengths for
the benefit of its current and future students. A consensus has emerged that the program mix at the University
of Saskatchewan, while suiting the institution very well
over the past decades, no longer suits the highly competitive student recruitment market or the intellectual
ferment of the early years of the 21st century. In this
document, the University signals its intention to support
interdisciplinary programming more substantially than
in the past. In doing so, we are indicating to colleges
and departments that interdisciplinary programs require
strong and clear commitment of resources. The number
of Schools, Institutes, and Centres proposed in various
plans suggests that changes will also be required in
organizational arrangements.
Critical Mass
The University of Saskatchewan needs new programs.
Several possibilities are outlined in Section B. The
University also needs fewer programs. We have to
consolidate our efforts and resist the temptation to
mount a myriad of small programs aimed at handfuls
of students. It is easy, and even popular, to add new
programs, additional positions, and extra facilities. It
is unpopular, often extremely so, to remove programs
(even if they have few graduates), shift faculty positions (even though student demand may have fallen
dramatically), or close facilities. But Integrated Planning
and SPR have both shown that the University continues
to do more in the academic and administrative areas
than it can properly sustain. We will, and must, make
decisive judgments about our institutional priorities
and follow up on these decisions by shifting resources
from areas of lowest priority (even though these may
still represent valuable intellectual and instructional
activities) to fields of greatest need and opportunity.
By the end of this planning cycle, we will have shifted
resources to areas of institutional commitment, even
though this will mean change for a variety of programs,
positions, and even facilities that have served this institution well in the past.
Pathways for Students
The success of our students is a major theme in this
plan. We have made significant investments in the student experience, both inside and outside the classroom,
but we realize that more is required. Capitalizing on
major Information and Communications Technology
(ICT) investments and improving the quality of student
advising are clearly priorities across the institution.
Increasing the visibility of student opportunities and the
effectiveness of support systems is in the best interests
of the University community. This Integrated Plan
builds on commitments at the college and unit levels by
providing more funding for students and student-based
projects.
Effective Use of Limited Resources
In the course of the Integrated Planning exercise a
concerted effort has been made to identify ways of
saving resources or deploying them more effectively.
Some of the changes required to do so will take time to
implement. But the examination of plans and practices
has helped isolate areas in which we need to rethink
original suppositions. It is axiomatic that the University
of Saskatchewan does not have enough resources to
do all that it wishes to do or, in fact, all that it needs
to do. It is less well understood that there are sources
of revenue—gained through fund-raising, targeted
programming, external grants and contracts, cost-recovery activities, and the like—that have not been fully
exploited. These revenues have to be seen as part of the
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
5
University’s overall financial resources and all academic
and administrative units have to be encouraged to capitalize on suitable and available opportunities. To this
end, the University has made a determination to rely
on partnership funding wherever deemed appropriate,
wherein colleges and administrative units will, in all
but a small number of instances, be required to identify
funding sources other than the University’s operating
budget to match central contributions for new initiatives.
These and other themes have emerged in the journey
that Integrated Planning has fostered. They are connected by the widespread understanding that we must
change, innovate, economize, and invest in order to
compete in the post-secondary environment of the 21st
century. We cannot operate in a vacuum. We know
that our future is closely connected to our ability to
meet the needs of the Province of Saskatchewan and
to ensure our place in the top rank of the research
intensive universities in Canada. The central purpose
of Integrated Planning was to identify a clear direction
for the institution—this was done through the Strategic
Directions—and to bring together our academic and
budgetary planning in support of our goals. The primary function of this document, which identifies our
priorities for the 2003/04 - 2006/07 planning cycle, is to
fashion a framework for decisions which will help realize the vision outlined in the Strategic Directions.
B. Strategic Initiatives
Over the past eighteen months, the campus community
has responded to the challenge of Integrated Planning
with a host of initiatives, many of which build on
strength and capitalize on opportunities. Even though
many of these initiatives are not featured in this document, they should become the basis for renewal and
innovation at the college and unit levels. The initiatives
that are discussed below are advanced as sufficiently
important, relative to the Strategic Directions and
the planning criteria we have employed, to warrant
institutional endorsement and support. As outlined
in the previous section, support is not unconditional.
These initiatives all require refinement, adjustments,
partners, and in some cases, formal Council and Board
of Governors approval. They do represent, however,
our attempt to set clear priorities for the current planning cycle. Success in these initiatives (and success in
the other activities presented in this plan) will move
us closer to our goal of establishing the University of
Saskatchewan as one of Canada’s top ten research universities, dedicated to international standards, known
for areas of academic pre-eminence, and committed to
the future of the Province of Saskatchewan.
6
to strengthen that commitment. The programmatic and
organizational changes outlined below are premised on
an extended concept of engagement of the University
with Saskatchewan and Canada. Engagement means
communication, partnerships, openness, and attentiveness. It involves putting the knowledge inside the
University at the disposal of the people of the Province
and beyond.
Our Sense of Place
That knowledge is needed now more than ever. The
challenges facing the Province and the country are
daunting. Arresting environmental degradation, ensuring economic growth, nurturing healthy populations,
promoting inclusiveness, and generating sound public
policy are challenges to which our University can
and will rise. Of course, these are global challenges
and all universities have a contribution to make. Our
contribution is made with the needs of the people of
Saskatchewan in mind. This marriage of the local and
the global is less paradoxical than it may appear. No
local challenge, that deserves the word, is without its
global manifestation; no global challenge fails to touch
us where we live. And we live in Saskatchewan, a province that has nurtured a major public university in the
hope and expectation that this university will assist in
meeting these challenges.
The University of Saskatchewan has demonstrated a
strong commitment to the community and the people
of Saskatchewan from its early days to the present.
Over this planning cycle, the University will take steps
Future directions at the University of Saskatchewan,
detailed in the following pages, will involve interdisciplinary initiatives and programs oriented towards
specific, often local or regional, communities and
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
environments. The University of Saskatchewan will
excel in policy, trade, and business issues vital to
Saskatchewan and environments like it in the world.
We will pursue excellence in health outcomes in communities, developing made-in-Saskatchewan solutions
to the perceived crisis in health (disease prevention
and health promotion) and health care (acute/chronic
medicine). And this University’s research and education
will contribute to solving problems of climate change,
natural resources, and environmental understanding,
particularly of sensitive environments like those found
in our own region. None of this is possible without
building on our current considerable strengths and the
expertise we have in many associated areas.
These strategic initiatives are drawn from among many
proposals developed by different colleges and units of
the University. At the moment, they are proposals only.
The colleges/departments asked to lead these initiatives still need to develop and implement their plans.
We realize that, in the meantime, other compelling
and complementary initiatives will emerge. A modern
university is a large and complex institution with many
possibilities, not all of which can be summed up under
a few strategic headings. The intention of this plan is to
spur and guide common and collaborative effort around
several key priorities that have emerged through the
Integrated Planning process.
Health
One of the most pressing problems facing society
today is health and health care, and, in Canada, a
national crisis is widely perceived. The University of
Saskatchewan, with its significant investment in health
sciences education and research—the broadest array of
health science programs in Canada including Medicine,
Nursing, Pharmacy, Nutrition, Dentistry, Physical
Therapy, Veterinary Medicine, and Kinesiology—is
uniquely positioned to develop made-in-Saskatchewan
solutions. Our goal must be to bring teaching and
research programs together in a more focused and collaborative way aimed principally at addressing pressing
issues of importance to the people of Saskatchewan and
to the country at large. The human and physical capital
found on this campus should be focused on the development of integrated undergraduate and graduate education in health sciences, community-oriented health
research, and basic research which takes advantage
of the unique opportunities available here, including
the Canadian Light Source synchrotron and recent and
proposed investments in science infrastructure (such as
the Saskatchewan Structural Sciences Centre, INTERVAC
and VIDO expansions, and the proposed Saskatchewan
Academic Health Sciences Centre).
Our commitment to health-related activities extends
well beyond the existing health science departments
and colleges. Community-University Research Alliances
(CURA-SSHRC) grants based in Geography and
Sociology and Community-Alliance Health Research
(CAHR-CIHR) grants
The University of Saskatchewan
based in Kinesiology
will excel in policy, trade,
have significant health
elements. Communityand business, issues vital to
based research
Saskatchewan and environments
initiatives, such as
like it in the world
RESOLVE, SPHERU,
Institute of Agricultural
Rural and Environmental Health (I.ARE.H), as well as
work in the Departments of Economics and Community
Health and Epidemiology represent major commitments
to this field. In the College of Arts and Science, faculty
with health-related teaching and research interests
can be found in the Departments of History, English,
Women’s and Gender Studies, Geography, Sociology,
Psychology, Chemistry, Biology, Languages and
Linguistics, Mathematics and Statistics/Mathematical
Sciences Group, Computer Science, and Geological
Sciences. Faculty members in the College of Commerce
have interests in health care administration. Faculty
in the College of Agriculture, especially those in Food
Science, contribute to the foundation of health sciences
and human well-being through their research and
teaching in a wide range of topics including food safety,
nutritional and functional attributes of foods and diets,
biotechnology, engineering, and environmental aspects
of processing and packaging. This large and growing
group of faculty members outside the health science
colleges represents a superb foundation for undergraduate and graduate programming in health.
This general commitment is, however, in need of
increased focus and collaboration. Despite its range of
professional programming and life science research, the
University of Saskatchewan does not have integrated
graduate or undergraduate programs in the health field.
Research groups are in their infancy and there is significant unmet demand in the biomedical science, social
science, and humanities areas. Excellent opportunities
exist to marshal resources in a manner that responds
to changing student expectations. A multi-college and
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
7
multi-disciplinary initiative in health has the potential
to enhance the University’s reputation for health programming, attract additional undergraduate students
to the institution, increase our research funding from
national granting councils, and capitalize on existing and planned faculty resources in the Colleges of
Medicine and Arts and Science among others.
relationship between the human and animal
sides of health care, and the development of the
medical beamline at the Canadian Light Source
synchrotron.
Broadly, our goals in the area of health are to: a) establish and build a stronger interdisciplinary awareness
of health and health care issues among the student
population; b) create synergies among our researchers;
c) become a leader in interprofessional health care
education; d) build critical mass in innovative undergraduate education programs; e) take full advantage of
interdisciplinary opportunities available through new
and planned facilities; f) capitalize on opportunities for
innovative graduate programs bringing together students and faculty from across the health sciences; and
g) draw on the full range of expertise across the campus
by focusing on nutrition, quality of life, primary health
care, and physical activity.
The following initiatives should be given high priority
over this planning cycle.
1. Interdisciplinary Research and
Graduate Programming
In the health area, there are many strong research
groups in social, population, and cultural determinants of health (SPHERU, CUISR, IPHRC, I.ARE.H);
some research groups are currently being established in the biomedical sciences (molecular design,
cardiovascular, immunology, neural systems and
plasticity, cancer proteomics). The University has
strength in biomedical engineering and in community-based health programs, including nutrition and
rural and remote health. The University has a number of instructional programs which could benefit
from greater collaboration and consolidation.
By the end of this planning cycle, the University of
Saskatchewan will develop a set of teaching and
research programs that take advantage of existing
research strengths and improve our participation
in Tri-Council research. We will do this through a
series of initiatives, including:
• forming at least ten major research groups with
faculty appointments made with these groups
as points of reference. In this regard, special
attention will be paid to infectious diseases, the
8
• creating an interprofessional Masters program
in Public Health with a focus on human-animal
health. The Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, and
Veterinary Medicine will be key players in this
initiative.
• creating an interdisciplinary graduate program
in Infection, Immunity, and Vaccination that
capitalizes on the proximity and research
performed by staff at the Vaccines and Infectious
Diseases Organization (VIDO) and that draws
upon faculty in university departments.
• creating an Interprofessional Health Sciences
Council with staff capable of leading the process
of curriculum reform across colleges.
• creating a School of Biomedical Sciences, a
critical component of the College of Medicine’s
Integrated Plan and such changes to the
organizational framework of the college as
are necessary to facilitate interdisciplinary
programming.
2. Common Health Sciences Curriculum
All of the professional health sciences programs are
in high demand by students. We need to develop
and offer a magnet program in the health sciences
with a common curriculum for the first two years
of study to give students greater choice but also
to use our existing resources more effectively.
Planning, development, and delivery of this curriculum should be a matter of priority for all of the
professional colleges in the health area. Conditional
admissions to professional programs can still be
provided for direct entry colleges, but a strong
emphasis needs to be placed on ensuring a common educational experience in the life sciences as
preparation for all health science disciplines. This
programming needs to be informed by research and
the research groups mentioned above. Room should
be made in the curriculum to expose students in the
first two years to the research being conducted in
the health sciences area. Depending on its precise
terms of reference, the Interprofessional Health
Sciences Council could take the lead in the develop-
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
ment of this common curriculum, which should be
approved for implementation by July 1, 2006 at the
latest.
3. Bachelor of Science in Health/
Bachelor of Arts in Health
Under the sponsorship of the Colleges of Arts and
Science and Medicine two new overlapping degrees
in Health should be established. The fundamental
principle behind these programs is the commitment
to combining a liberal arts and life science appreciation of major and developing issues in health and
health care. While students from these programs
may wish to apply for professional degrees in the
health sciences, these interdisciplinary degrees are
intended as preparation for a host of careers in the
health sciences. This also presents a real opportunity for the University to incrementally increase its
undergraduate student population through magnet
programs aimed at attracting students from across
Canada to these program offerings.
The Bachelor of Science in Health is expected to
focus on providing an advanced understanding of
the biomedical foundations of health and health
care. Students will examine human health and
wellness from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, based in the biomedical sciences, and will be
challenged to understand the relationship between
different scientific fields of inquiry as these investigations relate to human health. In addition, this
degree will provide students with sufficient social
science and humanities background to understand
the social, political, cultural, and economic context
of the contemporary health care system. Graduates
from this program will have a solid, multi-disciplinary foundation in Biomedical/Health Sciences
which would position them favorably for advanced
study in a discipline-specific area in the Biomedical
Sciences, potential professional school training, or
employment in the rapidly expanding health care
sector. Included in this degree will be:
• courses providing a substantial background in the
biomedical sciences
• courses providing a social science and humanities
perspectives on health and ethics
• integrated first year and graduating year courses
(including science, social science and humanities)
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
• an interdisciplinary graduating year capstone
research course, with teams established of science
and social science/humanities students
At the core of the Bachelor of Arts in Health is
expected to be the development of advanced understanding of the social aspects of human health
and health care. Students will examine health and
health care from a number of disciplinary perspectives, based in the humanities and social sciences,
and will be challenged to understand the economic,
social, cultural, gender, political, and historical context in which contemporary debates
Our goal must be to bring
about health and
teaching and research programs
health care occur.
The intention
together in a more focused
of the degree is
and collaborative way aimed
to explore the
principally at addressing
manner in which
pressing issues of importance to
different societies
view both human
the people of Saskatchewan and
health and wellto the country at large.
ness and strategies, programs,
and techniques used for addressing health care
concerns. The social determinants of health will
also be explored. In addition, this degree will provide students with sufficient scientific background
to understand major developments in health and
health care. Graduates from the program will have
a solid, multi-disciplinary foundation in health and
health care which would position them favorably
for advanced study in a discipline-specific area in
the social sciences or humanities, potential professional school training, or employment in the rapidly
growing health care and health policy sector.
Included in this degree will be:
• courses providing a substantial background in
social sciences and humanities perspectives on
health
• courses providing the fundamentals of a
biomedical appreciation of health
• integrated first year and graduating year
courses (including science, social science, and
humanities)
• an interdisciplinary graduating year capstone
research course, with teams established of science
and social science/humanities students
9
Science, Technology, and Society
The University of Saskatchewan has an opportunity to
position itself as a national and international leader in
the study of science, technology, and society. For example, we are one of only a few Canadian universities with
a long and respected tradition of agricultural research,
including veterinary medicine. We are the home of the
Canadian Light Source synchrotron, the largest scientific
installation in Canada
The University has built . . .
in a generation and
the only synchrotron
a national presence in several
in the country. The
key areas of science and
University has made
creative arts infrastructure, recent investments in
including the structural faculty and research
chairs to ensure that it
sciences, materials science,
participates in the
Aboriginal education, fully
science and research
biotechnology, toxicology, associated with this
infectious disease, rural new facility when it
becomes operational
health, and many aspects of
later this year. A
environmental sciences and
number of research
public policy. groups associated
with the CLS are also
developing and there is strong potential for even greater
participation in the CLS and CLS-related research in the
future. The University has built, through the leadership
of many individuals, departments, and research groups,
a national presence in several key areas of science and
creative arts infrastructure, including the structural
sciences, materials science, Aboriginal education, biotechnology, toxicology, infectious disease, rural health,
and many aspects of environmental sciences and public
policy. Without exception, the Natural Science disciplines and Engineering are solid research performers
generating Tri-Council funding at levels that are competitive with other major medical-doctoral universities in
Canada. Aspirations in the SSHRC and CIHR disciplines
are to generate a similar profile relative to benchmark
institutions such that the University of Saskatchewan
joins those peer institutions as a top ten research university. This level of research intensiveness has been
sometimes achieved in less than ideal conditions, particularly when the research facilities and infrastructure
available over the past decade are taken into account.
Our highly successful CFI proposals, and other key
infrastructure development, have created important new
facilities which serve to focus future research investment and activity. We need to ensure that we continue
10
to attract and retain the high quality faculty necessary
to achieve our research aspirations; clearly, faculty in
these areas are critical to our future success.
The University’s recent major investments in faculty,
research chairs, scientific equipment, and facilities
will be matched by additional investments in areas
that draw the humanities, social sciences, fine arts,
and professional schools into a greater engagement
with the questions of science, technology, and society.
Areas such as biotechnology, synchrotron science, and
computer science, in which we can claim leadership, all
raise significant questions of appropriate application,
ethical choices, and social returns. There are other areas
where the University could make an important contribution at the national level, such as science and technology assessment. One thing is certain: the University
must strive to make this broad, multi-disciplinary, field
of study a hallmark of the institution in both academic
and research programs.
1. Science Education
The University of Saskatchewan provides a wide
variety of fine, but undersubscribed, undergraduate
programs in many of the science disciplines. It is
crucial that enrolments in science expand in the
coming years. New degree combinations should be
considered, including the development of a combined BSc/BEd degree and a BA/BSc degree. The
former would assist the Province of Saskatchewan
to address a serious shortage of trained science and
mathematics educators; the latter could be targeted
at academically talented students who are seeking
a creative way to combine their interests and abilities. Science departments with low enrolments are
encouraged to partner with Student and Enrolment
Services Division (SESD) in its recruitment efforts
and to reconsider policies that establish unjustifiable roadblocks to the sharing of students and faculty resources. Undergraduate students should be
exposed to synchrotron science through a student
internship program offered in collaboration between
the CLS and the Division of Science as well as
through a new undergraduate program in biomolecular structures (the final initiative approved as
part of the Priority Determination Process) currently
under development.
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
2. Computer Engineering
4. Biotechnology
Our commitment to the provincial technology
enhanced learning initiative has provided new
resources and opportunities and our colleges have
responded well in this field. The College of Arts
and Science obtained ongoing funding support
in 2001/02 for enhanced ICT programming. The
University will support the joint initiative of the
Colleges of Engineering and Arts and Science
through their departments of Electrical Engineering
and Computer Science to establish a computer
engineering program during the planning period.
This activity has the potential to reinforce existing strengths in the two colleges and to build
programmatic and research strengths between the
disciplines. Furthermore, an enhanced presence in
computer engineering will strengthen relationships
with the provincial ICT industry, thus creating new
opportunities for students, graduates, and faculty,
and contributing to the growth and diversification
of the provincial economy.
3. New Media Centre
In recent years, ICT has brought dramatic changes
in the fine arts and humanities. Creative artists and
literary analysts have found numerous and exciting
ways to capitalize on information and communications technologies to expand the horizons of the
visual and performing arts and to examine literary
texts and human communications in new and illuminating ways. The work has unique and powerful
interdisciplinary elements. Literature specialists
work with geographers; musicians and composers
collaborate with computer scientists; visual artists
work with mathematicians in finding new ways of
presenting statistical concepts. University faculty
and graduate students are only beginning to explore
the creative potential of information and computing technologies, and it is vital that they have the
tools to explore these new means of expression and
analysis. Faculty members across the campus have
been involved in the conceptualization of a New
Media Centre. This facility will provide faculty and
graduate students with a first-rate research and
development opportunity. The centre will encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and will support
the cultural life on campus.
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
Over the past four years, the University has made
significant investments in undergraduate programming in biotechnology through the Priority
Determination process. This initiative has seen
some accomplishments, particularly the growth
of majors outside of the sciences, especially in
Commerce. There have been some disappointments
as well, including the small number of majors in
the science disciplines. The availability of external
funding reduced the cost of this initiative to the
University in the short-term, but this funding is
coming to an end and it is time to assess our commitments in this area. Biotechnology will remain a
crucial part of the University’s future. At the same
time, some new directions are called for.
Undergraduate program: Consideration should
be given to collapsing the existing undergraduate
degree programs that currently exist in various science departments into a single Bachelor of Science
program in Biotechnology. This program must
retain the academic contributions of the social
sciences, humanities, and commerce, (these are
the areas that make this program distinctive), but
should focus primarily on the scientific aspects of
this field. If this is deemed academically sound,
and if colleges and departments are willing to
resource this program, then the virtual College
of Biotechnology (vCB) can be strengthened as
a vehicle for coordination and promotion of this
undergraduate degree. If, on the other hand, departments wish to retain the existing structure, the
vCB should shift its focus to developing graduate
programming and resources will be provided to the
vCB commensurate with that role.
Graduate Concentration in Biotechnology: It
is crucial that the University establish a graduate
presence in biotechnology. The most likely area for
this development is in the science and technology
field, where issues of commercialization, trade,
regulation, and ethics combine to create perplexing problems of public policy. The vCB leadership
is urged to explore the possibility of developing a
professional Masters program in this area, perhaps
in collaboration with other, linked programs, and
perhaps under the umbrella of the proposed School
of Public Policy.
11
Environment
Our footprint on the planet is significant; climate
change, soil degradation, water quality, toxins, erosion,
ecosystems and habitat preservation are issues of global
interest and increasing urgency. New methods of natural-resource management figure prominently among
possible solutions
to pressing environMany universities pursue mental issues, many
science, but comparatively
of which are driven
by technologies and
few focus in a sustained,
critical, interdisciplinary, human impacts. Both
problems and soluway on the intersection of
tions require informed
science, communities, and
scrutiny and careful
environment. This intersection research.
is a place where the University
of Saskatchewan can make a
distinctive contribution.
Many universities
pursue science, but
comparatively few
focus in a sustained,
critical, interdisciplinary, way on the intersection of science, communities,
and environment. This intersection is a place where
the University of Saskatchewan can make a distinctive
contribution. We can do this in part by studying local
examples that are close at hand, building on the province’s natural environments and geography as well as
its long experience with natural-resource economies. In
doing so, the University is uniquely positioned to lead
a transformational initiative which would underline
Canada’s response to the Kyoto Accord and propel our
teaching and research activities on the global stage.
The University has a made a significant commitment to
the study of the environment in recent years, coinciding with the growing academic and public interest in
this field of inquiry. At present, however, our teaching
efforts lack focus and coordination. Courses, programs,
and faculty members are distributed across the campus.
There is considerable overlap between academic offerings and a resulting lack of instructional synergy. At a
time when other institutions have established the study
of the environment as a key programmatic focal point,
SPR reviewers suggest our efforts remain diffuse and illcoordinated, even though specific programs are praised
and our research initiatives are impressive.
It is critical that the University establish a more collaborative and formal presence in this area. The following
initiatives should be given high priority in this planning
cycle:
12
1. A Coordinated Environmental Sciences
Undergraduate Program
The colleges of Agriculture and Arts and Science,
both of which have degrees with strong environmental emphases, should develop a single
Environmental Sciences program, drawing on
existing resources and on instructional models from
other institutions. This will likely mean that several
existing programs will be phased out or incorporated into the new program. The new program can,
and should, include alternative streams that permit
students to concentrate in particular areas to properly reflect the unique strengths of the University of
Saskatchewan, particularly in the natural resources
area. All courses beyond first year should bear an
Environmental Sciences designation, even if that
designation is used in combination with others.
Critical to this effort is the need to develop a common first year for these students, and a common
capstone experience. Existing interdisciplinary
programs—such as Environmental Earth Sciences
and LUEST—that are currently under-resourced
should be folded into this umbrella making sure
to preserve their distinctiveness. Similarly, general
environmental training currently offered by the
College of Engineering through several of its departments should be amalgamated where possible to
embed related environmental science and complementary study courses into a new undergraduate
environmental option.
2. Interdisciplinary Environmental Science
Centres
Interdisciplinary environmental science centres
will play a central role in advancing our teaching
and research agenda in the environmental sciences. The Toxicology Centre at the University of
Saskatchewan has enjoyed a national reputation in
the recent past. With the approval of the Northern
Ecosystems Toxicology Initiative (NETI), and the
addition of four new faculty members associated
with it, Toxicology is regaining its national stature
at the graduate level and growing at the undergraduate level. That growth needs to continue, with
the recruitment of a Canada Research Chair and
attention to space needs. Over this planning cycle,
the Toxicology Centre will become a magnet for students and research and an illustration of what can
be accomplished in interdisciplinary programming.
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
In a similar vein, the proposed Centre in Hydrology
will address Saskatchewan’s water sustainability
problems and provide national leadership in
hydrological research and training. The Centre will
coordinate graduate student training, outreach,
and research, and develop major funded programs
addressing water and environmental change. It
will provide shared laboratory and experimental
research basin facilities to researchers from the
colleges of Agriculture, Arts and Science, and
Engineering, and from the National Water Research
Institute.
The University also needs to capitalize on its new
investments in faculty positions in the environmental sciences through the Canada Research Chairs
program. Building on the Canada Research Chairs
in hydrology, climate change, toxicology, and geology, new interdisciplinary research centres will be
encouraged to foster studies in such areas as water
resources, hydrology, environmental, and climate
change. The Canada Research Chairs are expected
to provide the leadership and focal point for the
development of these initiatives.
3. A Collaborative Graduate
Concentration in Environmental
Sciences
The new interdisciplinary centres discussed above,
and others that might emerge over the next three
years, should jointly develop, manage, and take
responsibility for, a multi-disciplinary graduate
concentration in environmental sciences. This
should include the offering of multi-disciplinary
graduate courses, monthly seminars, and special
lectures to students who are registered in disciplinebased graduate programs. Technological solutions
to soil, air, and water pollution that challenge
our industries and communities are under active
research and development and are supported by
significant industrial and Tri-Council grants. In this
regard, the multidisciplinary environmental science
graduate initiative across campus would be greatly
strengthened by integrating the Environmental
Engineering Division (spanning activities in
Agricultural and Bioresource, Civil, Geological, and
Chemical Engineering) into the effort. The College
of Graduate Studies can assist in coordination, but
the centres themselves must champion these activities and share the responsibility for developing and
implementing a viable and collaborative graduate
concentration in environmental sciences. This will
provide opportunities for our own environmental
science graduates and attract students from across
the country and around the world to our programs.
Environmental problems, and their solutions, ultimately
stem from the way in which humans interact with their
environment. While these initiatives emphasize scientific approaches to environmental problems—reflecting
the substantial existing strengths and investments of the
University—they also will incorporate consideration of
the human dimension of these problems. These initiatives also stand as a challenge to develop opportunities
for students to integrate coursework in the environmental sciences with complementary coursework in the
social sciences, health sciences, and policy studies.
Business and Entrepreneurship
The University of Saskatchewan is a key element in
the economic, social, and cultural development of the
Province of Saskatchewan. A mandate to serve the
interests of Saskatchewan governed the establishment
of the University and remains a cornerstone of its support and identity. As thoroughly as the University has
delivered on that mandate, we must make a renewed
commitment to Saskatchewan to compete in the 21st
century. Some of that commitment can be met by
continuing to study and foster the Province’s social
economy, including the voluntary and not-for-profit sectors that contribute to our strong sense of community.
Some can be met by providing students with opportunities to understand and participate in business.
Demand for business education is on the rise across
North America and internationally. Much of this
demand is met in colleges of Commerce or faculties
of Business Administration, but efforts are now being
made to provide students from a variety of areas
with an opportunity to encounter business practices
and principles while they devote themselves to other
programs of study. The need to expand business
education is particularly pressing at the University of
Saskatchewan where the College of Commerce is unable
to accommodate all qualified students and where the
students it does admit still have the need for a strong
background in arts and science. The latter point, the
need for arts and science preparation, has been made
in SPR reports of several Commerce programs, while
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
13
the growth of the Business Economics program in
Economics testifies to a strong preference on the part
of some Arts and Science students for education in
business. At the same time, the College of Commerce
is intent on strengthening its graduate programs, once
again to respond to SPR results, to improve the quality
and quantity of our research. Enhancing opportunities
for students to pursue careers in the business side of
the arts and humanities, for example in publishing, gallery and museum management, and theatrical production is also required.
To better serve the needs of our students, to enhance
collaboration among our colleges, and to strengthen the
colleges’ research and graduate programs, the following
initiatives deserve attention over the planning cycle:
1. BComm Combinations
The College of Arts and Science and the College of
Commerce should enter into discussions designed
to create a flexible five-year degree program that
would permit students to earn both an Arts (or
Science) degree and a B.Comm. In addition,
more counselling and encouragement should be
provided to students who wish to make use of
existing opportunities for doing joint degrees such
as a B.Comm. and B.S.A. or a B.Comm. and L.L.B.
Accommodation of these degree combinations may
require the College of Commerce to expand its
enrolment, although this expansion should not be
significant.
2. Entrepreneurship Programs
The University of Saskatchewan should place
increased emphasis on business and entrepreneurial
education. Learning opportunities provided to a
broad a range of students on campus can assist
in retaining graduates in Saskatchewan by giving
them some of the tools required to start businesses
in the province or bring a combination of business
skills and critical acumen to other employment
opportunities.
During this planning cycle, the Colleges of
Agriculture, Arts and Science, Commerce, and
Engineering should bring on stream entrepreneurship programs that are currently under preparation. These include an Entrepreneurship option
in Engineering jointly offered by the College of
Engineering and the College of Commerce; an
Entrepreneurship program in Agriculture offered
14
jointly by the College of Agriculture and the College
of Commerce; a Business minor for many programs
in Arts and Science offered jointly by the College
of Arts and Science and the College of Commerce;
an Entrepreneurship major in the College of
Commerce; and a package of five basic business
courses offered by the College of Commerce but
designed for non-Commerce students who may
wish to take some or all of them as electives.
3. Graduate Education in Business
The University of Saskatchewan is a national leader
of innovation in accounting education. Building
on its successful MSc Program, the College of
Commerce introduced the Mastersof Professional
Accounting (MPAcc) program in the late 1990’s.
This program offers a broad and more interdisciplinary approach to professional accounting
education that is unique in the country. The size
of the program has increased rapidly: 60 students
were accepted for 2004, 120 were turned away. The
2003 SPR report described the two current graduate
programs in Accounting—the MSc in Accounting
and the MPAcc—in glowing terms. It is clear that
the College of Commerce has a national reputation
in this area and the possibility of establishing it as
an area of pre-eminence inside the University is
compelling.
The College should, during this planning cycle,
develop a PhD program proposal with the intention of having it in place by July 1, 2006 or earlier.
There is a strong demand for this level of training in
the accounting community and among universities
that seek accounting faculty. Part of our contribution, as a post-secondary institution, to business
education in Canada should be support for the college in its plan, particularly those initiatives related
to accounting.
4. Commercialization
In 2003, the University created the Office of
Industry Liaison (ILO) to serve both our faculty
and students and the interests of the Province of
Saskatchewan. Service involves, fundamentally,
connecting the needs of companies in the province
with the research being conducted at the University.
Interactions involve material transfer arrangements,
disclosure agreements, option agreements, and
license negotiations.
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
During this planning cycle, the ILO will increase its
professional staff and its capacity to understand the
research potential of the University and add value
to it via commercialization. Working with partners
inside and outside of the University, the ILO will
review and revise existing policies to ensure that
they are facilitating the movement, where appropriate, of research products to commercial application.
This involves obtaining statutory protection, prototype development funds and marketing intelligence.
1. Aboriginal Academic Programs
It is expected that this Office will be generating a
revenue stream for the University sufficient to offset
its direct costs by the end of this planning cycle, or
the beginning of the 2007-2011 cycle.
Extending Community
Many people look to the global economy to find prosperity and development, and yet, at the same time,
global influences destabilize and sometimes threaten
communities and values. Saskatchewan knows this as
well as most places in the world: since the early days of
the First Nations, people here have lived by trading and
have been exposed to the impact of international forces.
One of the challenges today, not only in Saskatchewan,
is to achieve competitiveness, productivity, and business innovation sufficient to support a desired standard
of living, while at the same time achieving other things
essential to quality of life. We want a civil society in
a global economy (perhaps also a civil economy in a
global society).
On the one hand, the University of Saskatchewan can
help the province to compete in the 21st century by
developing the knowledge, human talent, and innovation needed by businesses; on the other hand, the
University can assist with other key elements in development and quality of life. These include the social
economy: community-based businesses such as cooperatives and nonprofit voluntary associations, a field
in which Saskatchewan excels although it is of growing
interest across Canada and internationally. These also
include the performing arts, literature, culture and
civilization, physical activity and sport, particularly
where these succeed in bringing a higher quality of life
to the citizens of the province. Other focal points for
the University include Aboriginal educational programs,
outreach and engagement with social and economic
issues, and internationalization.
The University of Saskatchewan is well-positioned to
develop initiatives in all of these areas.
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
The Province of Saskatchewan has a growing
and important Aboriginal sector with attendant
teaching and research needs. The University of
Saskatchewan has emerged in recent years as a
national and international leader in the field of
Aboriginal research and teaching. Several colleges
have established this field as a top academic priority and it is to be expected that our commitment in
this area will grow. We have, at the undergraduate
level, several key instructional programs, many of
which cannot meet the existing demand. As a result
of this combination of pre-eminence in research
and teaching and sustained demand, the University
is prepared to make additional investments in this
high priority field.
Aboriginal Secondary Teacher Education
Program (ASTEP): The University of Saskatchewan
has, for a generation, been a leader in the education
of Aboriginal elementary teachers. We believe this
programming should be expanded to the secondary level. There
is tremendous
The University of Saskatchewan
provincial and
is a key element in the
national demand
economic, social, and cultural
for Aboriginal
development of the Province
high school teachers that is largely
of Saskatchewan. A mandate
unmet by existing
to serve the interests of
offerings. This
Saskatchewan governed the
initiative can only
establishment of the University
be achieved in
partnership with
and remains a cornerstone of its
federal agencies,
support and identity.
especially the
Department of
Indian and Northern Affairs, and Saskatchewan’s
bands and tribal councils. The ASTEP would be
coordinated with first and second year programming in the College of Arts and Science, with a goal
of ensuring that Aboriginal students are able to
study in all teaching areas in the arts and sciences.
Department of Native Studies: The Department
of Native Studies is responsible for one of the highest demand programs on campus and requires an
injection of resources. The University needs to support scholarship specifically focused on Aboriginal
community issues and centered on Native Studies,
but the department has been in transition for the
15
better part of the past decade. The department
is completing a review of its curriculum, with a
view to working out formal arrangements with
other departments that have significant Aboriginal
programming. This coordination will eliminate
duplication, establish coordination with other initiatives (including the Indigenous Peoples and Justice
Program), and allow for the clarification of the
distinct academic mission of the department. When
that review is complete, and it is possible to reestablish admissions to the graduate program, the
University will increase resources to Native Studies,
consistent with the College of Arts and Science
overall allocation process. All of this, including the
additional resources, should be in place by the end
of the planning cycle.
Aboriginal Education Research Centre: Virtually
every First Nations, Inuit, and Métis community
in Canada has identified Aboriginal education as a
top priority. While there are numerous innovative
programs and support initiatives, there is as yet no
coordinated research activity on Aboriginal education. The University
The University of Saskatchewan
of Saskatchewan is
uniquely positioned
has emerged in recent years
to take on this role,
as a national and international
with the College of
leader in the field of Aboriginal
Education well-poised
research and teaching.
to take the lead. An
Aboriginal Education
Research Centre will be supported by the University
and the College of Education, with appropriate
collaborations with other colleges and units.
The Centre will take a broad and comprehensive
approach to the study of Aboriginal education,
focusing on issues of pedagogy, policy, social,
and economic determinants of educational attainment, historical and cultural contexts, and related
areas. This will be a flagship unit for the College of
Education and the University as a whole.
Agricultural Outreach: In recent years, First
Nations and Métis groups across the country have
made significant investments in agriculture and
agriculture-related businesses. The College of
Agriculture has demonstrated a determination to
assist Aboriginal communities, companies, and
organizations with the development of agricultural
practices and opportunities. This outreach initiative,
which is consistent with the deep tradition of agri-
16
cultural extension at the University, will be strongly
encouraged in the coming years. This engagement
will, in turn, encourage faculty members to engage
in research of particular interest to Aboriginal communities and should result in additional Aboriginal
students enrolling in diploma and degree programs
in the College of Agriculture.
2. Outreach and Engagement
Faculty and staff at the University of Saskatchewan
make a point of connecting their work to the needs
of the province across a wide range of research
and teaching activities. Critical parts of that work
have been undertaken by the Extension Division,
including the delivery of continuing education programs, university level instruction in non-traditional
formats, and scholarship in fields such as adult
education and distributed learning. But extension
is not just the job of the Division of Extension. It is
everyone’s business at this University, and it is in
our collective interest that it be done well. Changes
in the model of extension delivery used in other
jurisdictions oblige us to think about our own structure. We have not changed our approach to extension for many years, and in the interim a greater
emphasis is being placed by others on ensuring that
we respond to new and emerging needs in ways
that are compatible with our academic strengths.
Put another way, if the University is to better enable
the people of the Province to meet their goals, ideas
of extension and outreach must be reconsidered,
refined, and refocused.
Continuing Education: The University serves many
of its students by offering non-credit opportunities
to those who wish to learn more about particular
topics or to secure a certificate indicating a level
of proficiency in a specialized area. In virtually
all Canadian universities these non-credit courses
are offered on a cost-recovery basis. They are an
important service, but not one which typically relies
on operating budget support. The operating budget
exists primarily to support degree-based programs
and the research associated with them. Accordingly,
the University will establish a new Continuing
Education Unit and charge it with the responsibility
for delivering non-credit and certificate programming either on its own or in conjunction with
colleges. These programs will rely for support on
tuition revenues as well as external grants and
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
sponsorships. It is important that a genuine costrecovery operation be established.
Outreach and Engagement: In the United States,
major state and land-grant institutions have
advanced the idea of an ‘engaged’ institution as
a means of rethinking and reorienting traditional
mandates in outreach. While ‘extension’ implies the
mobilization of university resources for the benefit
of communities beyond the boundaries of the institution, ‘engagement’ envisions mutually beneficial
partnerships, ‘two-way streets’, and a commitment
to ensuring that the community and students gain
access to new knowledge. The development of
close community partnerships is consistent with the
concept of the social economy referenced above,
and it is clearly a strength of the University of
Saskatchewan as evidenced in recent successes in
Community-University Research Alliance (CURA)
and similar research projects. Engagement involves
our province’s economic development and is clearly
illustrated in attempts to introduce the community
to the innovative capacity of our researchers. It
involves our students who are looking for ways of
combining their university education with opportunities to serve in, and learn from, the community in
which they live. Engagement is part of what the arts
community has long dedicated itself to, by training
performance artists and writers and assisting the
community to provide a rich cultural experience for
its members.
To assist in defining the scope and possibilities of
the engagement challenge, the University, through
Council, will develop a Foundational Document on
Outreach and Engagement. This document should
address, in broad terms, the engagement capabilities of the institution and review our existing
strengths, including our CURA and CUISR successes
and the work of the Social Research Unit. Over
time, and guided by the Foundational Document on
Outreach and Engagement, measures will be taken
to reassign the work of the faculty in the Extension
Division so that, where possible, their activities are
better integrated with the outreach and engagement
priorities of colleges and units.
3. International Studies
In our determination to reach out to our communities, we cannot forget the essential role those communities could play in the instructional programs
that we offer. We know from discussions around the
Enrolment Plan that the University has few opportunities for students to experience the “real work”
environment. A student-oriented initiative focusing
on experiential learning with a special emphasis on
guided community service as a valid educational
experience (deserving of credit) should be a feature
of our activities in this area.
Engagement, as defined above, is properly the
responsibility of all colleges and units across the
University. It needs to be tightly integrated with our
teaching and research programs; it should not be
the exclusive responsibility of a single entity. The
precise organizational form we adopt needs to be
the product of thoughtful consideration across the
campus.
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
The Foundational Document, Globalism and the
University of Saskatchewan, pointed out, among
other things, that the University needs to significantly expand its international programming. At
the same time, another Foundational Document,
Bridging to 2010 (the Enrolment Plan), anticipates a
significant increase in the size of our international
student population. The Province of Saskatchewan
is a major commodity exporter and relies on its
trade ties for prosperity. Saskatchewan students
need to be supported in their efforts to learn about
international development and the international
political economy. The following initiatives should
be addressed over this planning cycle.
International Studies Program: The SPR report
on the International Studies program in the College
of Arts and Science pointed out that while the
program is popular among students, it has very
few dedicated resources. Core departments providing courses for the program include Economics,
Sociology, History, Geography, Religious Studies
and Anthropology, and Political Studies. Two
departments which have significant international
dimensions and should be fully engaged with this
program – Languages and Linguistics and Religious
Studies and Anthropology – face significant problems including a small number of majors or inadequate faculty resources.
During this planning cycle, serious attention
should be given to the possibility of creating,
within the College of Arts and Science, a School of
International Studies. This School would assume
responsibility for staffing a revamped International
17
Studies program in which faculty resources currently deployed supporting departmentally based
programs would be re-engaged in expanding and
enriching the offerings in International Studies. The
program needs to be sustained either by permanent
faculty assignments to the School, or by permanent
commitments of teaching and administrative support obtained from cognate departments within the
college.
Masters of International Trade: International
trade is of critical economic and social importance
in Canada as well as globally. Nevertheless, the
number of Canadians possessed of applied expertise in this area remains regrettably small. As a
result, the Canadian government and business
sectors are forced to rely heavily on the expertise
of non-Canadians for the purposes of developing
government and business policies and strategies,
and of advancing Canadian interests in the world of
international trade. A similar need for the education
of individuals equipped to address issues associated with international
trade exists in many
. . . If the University is to
countries around the
better enable the people of the
world. Few Canadian
Province to meet their goals, institutions of higher
education offer
ideas of extension and outreach
programs designed
must be reconsidered, refined,
to address the need
and refocused.
for knowledge and
expertise in this field.
Interdisciplinary course and program offerings
are non-existent in Canada and there are very few
offered elsewhere.
The proposed program is designed to enable students to acquire an integrated understanding of the
interrelated legal, economic, political, and business issues involved in international commercial
transactions and enterprise, and to prepare them to
respond effectively to those issues. The University
of Saskatchewan possesses a fortuitous combination of expertise and interest to recommend the
creation of this professional Masters program. It
is the product of collaboration among various colleges, including Law, Commerce, Arts and Science,
and Agriculture, and it enjoys support in the community, specifically from the Estey Centre for Law
and Economics in International Trade, located in
Saskatoon. As currently conceived, most of the
18
program would be delivered on-line, thus drawing
on the expertise of distributed learning specialists
in Extension. Once fully operational, the program
is intended to recover its costs. Space requirements
are minimal, but assistance is required in meeting
start-up requirements. This program deserves the
support of the University for its capacity to engage
a niche area and the opportunity it presents to project our strengths beyond the province.
Public Policy
The potential and promise described in each section above would be considerably strengthened if
the University of Saskatchewan were to capitalize
on its existing strength in public policy. In a number
of departments and colleges faculty members at the
University of Saskatchewan research and write on
public policy topics. The University of Saskatchewan
already has a solid base to build from, including a
long tradition of involvement in rural and community
economic development. It has a leading centre of
national/international prominence, the Centre for the
Study of Co-operatives, as well as the CommunityUniversity Institute on Social Research (CUISR), which
has done important work on housing and neighborhood
development among other topics. This is not to mention
numerous other community-development initiatives
related to Aboriginal people, health, and other examples
mentioned elsewhere. In short, the University is
uniquely positioned to make an important and growing
contribution to the understanding and the development
of public policy in Saskatchewan and Canada.
Public policy is, by its nature, interdisciplinary. It
involves collective decision-making regarding means
and ends in an atmosphere of uncertainty. Discipline
based knowledge of policy content is vital to an appreciation of the possible choices, but policy making also
involves a broad understanding of human behavior. It
has empirical and normative dimensions and is amenable to different methodological treatments. What unites
students of public policy is the desire to understand
and critique the decisions of public bodies charged with
exercising political authority.
The University of Saskatchewan should make the creation of a School of Public Policy a high priority. This
School would complement, advance, profile, and sustain other research and graduate programs on campus
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
that focus on public policy and governance. It would
also develop new strengths in research, particularly
in areas that involve science, technology, and society.
It would identify a particular niche for Saskatchewan,
such as areas where science and society converge, and
list a set of priority areas for development. It should
certainly reinforce our initiatives and focus on health,
environment, and biotechnology policy along with
policy issues related to other areas described above.
missions and clientele, but ensuring a strong measure
of coordination and the use of common facilities and
infrastructure. The School should have a central presence on campus and it should be possible to appoint
faculty members directly to it. Its director should have a
University-wide appointment and be expected to participate in University planning and decision-making bodies.
The School should make the creation of a one year,
professional, graduate program in Public Policy its
initial objective. This program would be interdisciplinary in nature targeting those who presently hold policy
positions in businesses, NGOs, industry, arts policy,
and trade associations as well as government. Courses
focusing on research methods, the economics of public
policy, and the political dimension of politics should be
core, but the School would add courses in a variety of
policy areas—health policy, science policy, trade and
resources, labor, etc.—developed in concert with faculty
from across the University.
The initiatives outlined above will require assistance
and resource commitments. These must come from the
University and from the colleges and units. For the most
part, the programmatic
initiatives require first
The University is uniquely
and foremost a realpositioned to make an important
location of resources
that currently exist.
and growing contribution to
In some cases new
the understanding and the
resources will be
development of public policy in
required to fill critical
Saskatchewan and Canada.
gaps and, in most
cases, these will come
from the Academic
Priorities Fund. In all cases provision must be made for
leadership and coordination. These initiatives cannot be
permitted to flounder for lack of logistical support at the
college and University levels.
A major goal of the School would be the development
of a seminar series involving high profile speakers,
and the sponsorship of conferences and workshops to
which members of the community would be invited.
The School should connect with counterparts across
the country, including policy think tanks, to ensure that
students and faculty are provided with opportunities to
engage in policy forums with experts in particular areas.
Commitments
Among the financial supports that will be supplied at
the University level to support the strategic initiatives
described above are the following:
The School would serve as a focal point for existing
research projects and groups. It would initiate new
research projects and sponsor applications for major
grants including those that involve large research
teams. The School would be expected to concentrate on
areas particularly pertinent to the Western region, but
it should also be encouraged to generate partnerships
with other research bodies and to become involved in
consulting work as appropriate.
Currently research on policy issues is distributed about
the campus, sometimes located in centres such as the
Centre for the Study of Cooperatives, at other times in
particular departments and colleges. Where appropriate, every effort should be made to co-locate these
initiatives inside the School, retaining their distinctive
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
• Funding of at least $5 million from the Capital
Campaign to create up to five funded Chairs
in several of the critical areas outlined above:
Aboriginal, Environmental Science, Public Policy,
Health (including public health and biotechnology)
and Computer Engineering. These Chairs will
require matching funds on the part of the colleges
involved and their exact location will take into
account those opportunities.
• Commitment for additional chairs in Accounting,
Rural and Remote Health, and Toxicology, again
subject to matching funds on the part of the
colleges involved.
• Graduate scholarship funding support in the
amount of at least $1.0 million in new funds
(ongoing, by 2007) conditional on the College
19
• Funding support through this planning cycle
to assist in the development and delivery of
entrepreneurship courses and combination business
programs.
of Graduate Studies and Research reshaping
its existing Devolved Scholarship program (see
Sections C and D below).
• Resources to establish and maintain the
Interprofessional Health Science Council on the
understanding that this Council will be responsible
for graduate and undergraduate health science
programming and be inclusive of the colleges
involved.
• Start-up funding to design and support the
introduction of the Masters program in International
Trade.
• Start-up funds required to support the creation of
the Aboriginal Education Centre.
• Modest overhead support to coordinate the
Environmental Sciences program and the work of
the centres.
• Space and infrastructure support for the initiatives
described above.
• Incremental base-budget support to assist in
the hiring of new faculty in the Department of
Native Studies and in the Department of Electrical
Engineering for the proposed Computer Engineering
program.
• Base budget support for a revamped International
Studies program contingent on the College of
Arts and Science eliminating or consolidating
programming to release college resources in support
of this initiative.
• One-time funding to establish a properly outfitted
New Media Centre, in space identified within the
College of Arts and Science.
It is recognized that these financial commitments may
have to be augmented by others if we wish these initiatives to proceed in a timely fashion. Changes to these
commitments also may be required in the event that our
financial situation worsens. However these initiatives
unfold, we recognize that support for them cannot be
merely rhetorical. Energy must be devoted to making
them happen; resource reallocations must occur. And
the work does not end here. Colleges and departments
will need to obtain matching funds, research overheads,
and partnership funding for many of these initiatives.
They will need to fully cooperate in the elimination of
programming made redundant by these initiatives, and
in the assignment of duties consistent with them. They
will also need to identify space to accommodate some
of these initiatives within existing facilities.
C. Supporting Success
The University recognizes that in addition to the
changes required in academic programming, extra
efforts must be made to attract and retain both faculty
and students. This was a clear message delivered in the
Strategic Directions and one which was heard repeatedly in the college plans. There is a host of ways in
which the University can better serve its students and
its faculty; not all of them can be managed at once. The
areas outlined below represent those in which a strong
consensus has developed, and in which we have made
commitments through the Foundational Documents.
During this planning cycle we expect to make progress
under all of the headings, but we are conscious that
progress is contingent on our budgetary situation. This
section reflects keenly the limitations of resources.
Mentioned here are the supports that are most likely
20
to be resourced, plus those that will be targets for
resources if our budgetary situation improves beyond
that which we currently anticipate in the multi-year
framework.
Investing in Students
We begin with our most important resource: our students. Their success reflects on us and it is imperative
that we do everything we can to make sure that they
are able to access the kind of education that can only
be delivered by a major research university. That means
we have to support their academic needs and their need
for personal growth. Highlighted below are some critical
investments that we expect to make during this planning cycle.
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
Graduate Student Support
Establishing the University of Saskatchewan as a major
presence in graduate education in Canada was one of
the four objectives outlined in the Strategic Directions.
To make that happen, the University will increase
its support for graduate students on our campus. At
the same time, it is important to ensure that any new
funds are employed to further the research goals of
the University and bolster areas of pre-eminence and
priority. Changes to the manner in which both existing
and new funds are allocated are outlined in Section D
below. This section deals with adjustments in the level
of support.
In the budget year 2001-02, $1 million was set aside
from the Academic Priorities Fund to support graduate students. Much of this new funding was aimed at
improving the level of support for each scholarshipfunded student; some of it was targeted to new recruitment. In the course of this planning cycle, a minimum
of $1 million of additional ongoing funding will be provided for recruitment and support of graduate students.
In 2005/06, $500,000 will be provided to support a new
scholarship program described below, and in 2006/07
an additional $500,000 will be made available to areas
of focus and pre-eminence, allowing them to recruit
more graduate students. In addition, in the 2004/05
academic year $200,000 will be available to provide a
much needed supplement to the New Faculty Award
Program. These latter funds will be expended over the
planning cycle.
A major portion of these new funds will be used to create new Ph.D. and Masters Scholarships to be known as
the Dean’s Graduate Scholarships. A Dean’s Scholarship
will be offered to a student who has an outstanding
academic record, shows research promise, and is registering for the first time in a thesis- or dissertation-based
graduate program, with preference given to Canadian
students. Nominations for the Dean’s Scholarships will
be made by faculty or academic units to the College of
Graduate Studies and Research, with preference given
to faculty holding external (especially Tri-Council) funding, who wish to recruit a new student. A Dean’s Ph.D.
Scholar will receive $20,000 for a one-year term, with
a possible 12-month renewal year pending satisfactory
academic standing. A Dean’s Ph.D. Scholar’s department or supervisor will guarantee an additional year of
funding which may require some service depending on
the source of funding. A Dean’s Masters Scholar will
receive $18,000 in the first year of their program and
their department or supervisor will guarantee an additional year of funding which may require some service
depending on the source of funding. The College of
Graduate Studies and Research will use part of its existing funds to implement a ‘top-up’ program for national
award-holders in recognition that these students are of
the highest quality and, in coming with their own funding, less costly to the University.
Undergraduate Student Support
The University is aware that our level of undergraduate
student support is lower than it needs to be in light of
the competition for students across the country and
the growth in tuition fees here and elsewhere. We have
made the acquisition
In the course of this planning
of a matching program
of scholarship supcycle, a minimum of $1 million
port a high priority
of additional ongoing funding
in discussions with
will be provided for recruitment
the provincial government. To date, no
and support of graduate
serious progress has
students.
been made on that
front. For that reason, the University will make available, from the Academic Priorities Fund, $500,000 each
year for the next two years to fund a program aimed at
gifted students. In 2006/07, it is expected that ongoing
funding support for this program will shift from the
Academic Priorities Fund to the revenues generated
from the Preston Crossing retail complex.
The financial assistance plan that has been developed
for undergraduate students outlines five priority areas.
These areas, in order of importance, are:
• Merit-based Awards to Entering Students
• Merit-based Awards to Continuing Students
• Needs-based Awards to Entering and Continuing
Students
• Financial Assistance to Aboriginal Students
• Financial Assistance to International Students
These priority areas, and the order in which they
appear, have been determined through a review of
relevant literature, our own research, and feedback from
students. A more thorough discussion of the priorities
and the accompanying initiatives will be found in the
University of Saskatchewan Financial Assistance Plan
(2003-2007) document, anticipated to be submitted to
the Board of Governors in June 2004.
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
21
The financial assistance plan will ensure that new
resources are dedicated to programs that are priorities
from a campus-wide perspective. It is a platform for
being competitive amongst our peers, as well as recruiting and retaining a diverse and academically promising
body of students through a combination of targeted and
strategic awards.
Recruitment and Retention
The Enrolment Plan has committed the University to
increasing the size of the student body, attracting more
students from out-of-province, and increasing the number of international students attending our institution. It
has also identified retention as a serious problem which
needs to be addressed in this planning cycle.
The University is prepared to assist in funding additional recruitment efforts and a study of retention.
A fund of $320,000 was initially allocated from the
2001/02 Saskatchewan Universities Funding Mechanism
(SUFM) phase-in adjustment to support initiatives
emanating from the
The urgency of the postEnrolment Plan. These
resources will now be
secondary challenge facing
allocated permanently
Aboriginal people in
to SESD to support
Saskatchewan is likely the
these recruitment and
retention initiatives.
greatest in Canada.
In addition, resources
will be made available, on a one-time basis, to allow
SESD to significantly improve international recruitment
efforts, as part of the University’s proposed Global
Commons, over the next two years. Following this
period, anticipated increases in international student
enrolments will be used to fund these new initiatives.
On the retention front, given the lack of concrete
data/information on which to base our activities, the
University will begin by sponsoring a study of retention issues aimed at determining the major obstacles
to students continuing their academic studies at the
University of Saskatchewan. In addition, during this
planning cycle serious consideration will be given to
the establishment of an Academic Skills Centre which
will consolidate, perhaps in the Main Library, units like
the Writing Centre, Math Help Centre, IT Ready, and
Library Instruction and Information. The University’s
expanded academic assistance initiatives for Aboriginal
Students, including the SMARRRT program for Science
and Mathematics preparation, could also work through
the Academic Skills Centre. Such a Centre would pro-
22
vide all students on campus with the kind of timely,
course-based, assistance in writing, communications,
and mathematics that they require. It would also provide a significant opportunity for student employment
as tutors and mentors for students. A study of the
feasibility of such a Skills Centre will be led by SESD
in close collaboration with faculty and staff members
in several colleges. If it should be deemed feasible, the
budget of the Centre will be augmented to allow more
graduate students to be employed in tutorial roles.
Supporting Aboriginal Students
The University of Saskatchewan has articulated a
strong institutional commitment, through the Strategic
Directions and the Aboriginal Foundational Document,
to meeting the needs of Aboriginal students and communities. Individual colleges and units have, through
their integrated plans, indicated that they share this
commitment and are determined to meet the objective
of solidifying the University of Saskatchewan’s standing
as one of the leading institutions in the world in this
important field.
We do this out of a shared belief in the important
insights and learning to be gained through closer collaboration with Aboriginal communities and our commitment to serving the Aboriginal people of Saskatchewan
and Canada. The urgency of the post-secondary challenge facing Aboriginal people in Saskatchewan is likely
the greatest in Canada. We are convinced that the experience and approaches developed in this province will
provide a model than can be adopted (and adapted) in
other parts of the country.
A number of initiatives are possible during this planning cycle, but two are profiled below as indicative
of the kind of work that needs to be done. In both
cases, indeed in all matters related to programming
for Aboriginal students, it is imperative that we have
partners and programs. Partners are needed because
the kinds of programs that work are the ones that
meet the needs of Aboriginal peoples. Programs are
needed because we must have a means of identifying
our goals, establishing the community we intend to
serve, and monitoring our progress. But if we are to
make significant progress in assisting the community of
Aboriginal students, we will require programs that can
be evaluated so that deficiencies are demonstrable and
success is tangible. This does not suggest deletion of
other, more general, services which would continue to
be available.
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
A Mathematics and Science Transition Program:
Because of their cumulative nature, the sciences present unique challenges to students during the transition
to university study. These challenges are faced by
the entire student population, but are more acute for
Aboriginal students. We know from experience with the
Mathematics Readiness Program in Arts and Science
that key components of a successful science transition
program include individualized detailed diagnostic of
students’ entry knowledge and skill level and instructional approaches which accommodate the existing
skill/knowledge level of students en route to the established curriculum goals.
Foundational work has already been done on diagnostic
assessment within Mathematics. Experienced dedicated
instructors with a record of teaching excellence can
overcome the instructional challenges if they are given
a clear mandate, discretional flexibility, and appropriate
class sizes. A science transition program containing a
fixed set of courses only available through the transition
program would enable a team of dedicated instructors
to carry out a coordinated, adaptive, and holistic effort
to confront common instructional challenges, since
students would have identical course registration. Other
academic and non-academic aspects of transition would
be incorporated into the program based on the extensive experience gained across the campus from existing
transition programs for Aboriginal students. Further
advantages would be gained from the peer support that
naturally develops within a cohort of students following
a common program.
The set of courses contained in such a transition program would need careful consideration. Discussions on
an appropriate balance between science, humanities,
and social sciences would be necessary. If a goal of
the transition program is to prepare students for preprofessional training for transfer to the health sciences
programs (e.g. dentistry, medicine, nutrition, pharmacy,
physical therapy) then Biology 110.6 and Chemistry
112.3 are common to all program requirements, and
should definitely be included. For those destined to
the Colleges of Education (see below), Agriculture, or
Engineering, the course content would be a bit different. But with the addition of mathematics and computer
science, students would then be able to begin study
across the entire range of scientific and technological
disciplines.
An Aboriginal Achievement Program: In 2003-04,
the University introduced a transition program aimed
at Aboriginal students entering the University of
Saskatchewan for the first time. The purpose of this
program was to create a supportive community of
Aboriginal students and, in so doing, address the
panoply of social, financial, and cultural challenges
that await Aboriginal students first encountering the
University of Saskatchewan.
It is our hope that, with the assistance of federal funding partners, this program might be extended into an
Aboriginal Achievement program modeled on the partnership programs that have emerged in the USA in the
last decade. These programs are premised on the provision of financial support to students who are meeting
their academic goals. We are currently discussing the
possibility of augmenting our present first year transition program with a specific mentoring and monitoring
component focused on achievement of academic goals.
Expanding Work-Based Learning
Students, employers, and academic departments have
discovered the value and diversity of work-based learning experiences. The University of Saskatchewan has
made available some work-based learning experiences
for students; these measures can be viewed as modest at best since most students cannot take advantage
of these opportunities. We have small Cooperative
Education programs and small career internship programs in the College of Arts and Science, Agriculture,
and Engineering; practicums associated with professional programs in most of the health sciences and
Education; and a significant number of courses that
integrate work experience with classroom activities.
Students have made it clear that they are eager for
additional work-related experiences. Numerous departments have concluded that experiential learning can
add significantly to the quality of an undergraduate
degree. Over this planning cycle, the University of
Saskatchewan must find additional ways of integrating
work-based learning experiences into undergraduate
programs and assessing those experiences once implemented.
One example of the kind of programming that could
be developed is the proposed expansion of the Career
Internship Program in the College of Arts and Science.
With the assistance of the SESD, the college will expand
its existing program over this planning cycle, with
invitations extended to all departments and colleges
interested in participating and willing to provide credit
for supervised work-based courses. Building from its
existing small credit offering provided to approximately
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
23
two dozen students per year, the program will grow
substantially while retaining its current features: a
supervised work experience (approximately 10 hours
per week for a semester), academic oversight based in
the department providing credit for the course, supervisors’ reports of student progress, and a student essay on
the experience. Placements will be identified throughout Saskatoon, the province, and Canada, including
on-campus work opportunities and positions with
provincial and federal government agencies, private
companies, and non-government organizations (with
particular emphasis on cultural agencies). Students will
be provided with workplace orientation seminars and
follow-up career planning, coordinated by the SESD.
While the University will assist in the development
of these programs, the expectation is that these programs will be self-funding. Tuition from the course
registrations is retained by the program in order to
cover supervisory and coordination costs and private
sector participants will pay a fee for having the student
available to their organization. In the Arts and Science
case, the SESD will prepare an extensive plan for the
expanded Career Internship Program, with a target
of 200 participants by 2005/06 and additional growth
beyond that time.
Global Commons
The University of Saskatchewan operates in a global
environment, recruiting hundreds of international
undergraduate and graduate students each year,
mounting numerous courses and programs with strong
international content. Despite this solid record, there
is a strong consensus on campus that our international
efforts should expand: we should recruit more international students, provide all students with opportunities
to study abroad, and improve support programs for
those who come to us from other countries. In these
areas our current administrative arrangements are
complex and structurally divided. Moreover, there is
considerable duplication of effort across the campus.
Through the discussions leading to the adoption of the
International Foundational Document, it became clear
that the University of Saskatchewan has to review its
internationalization structures and programs and make
significant strides to stay competitive in this increasingly important area. To this end, the Provost’s Office
is proposing the establishment of a Global Commons
to coordinate all student-related international activities
at the University. The idea of a “Commons” suggests
24
friendly, open, and shared space in which complementary activities can flourish. There is no requirement
that everyone associated with the Commons must
share reporting relationships. What they need to share
is the common mission outlined in the Foundational
Document. The objectives of the Global Commons will
include:
• attracting a larger and more diverse group of
international students.
• supporting the physical, social, and academic
development of all international students, including
those who begin their time at the University of
Saskatchewan as participants in our English as a
Second Language program.
• developing and promoting increased opportunities
for Canadian students to pursue international study,
work, and travel experiences.
• promoting internationalization across the
University.
The Global Commons will be a focal point for the
recruitment and retention of undergraduate and graduate students. The Global Commons will also provide
enhanced services to incoming international students,
many of whom begin their careers at the University of
Saskatchewan with the Centre for Second Language
Instruction (CSLI). It will include the International
Students Office, which is concerned with the academic
and social well-being of international students and
a Global Education Office, which will support an
expanded range of study-abroad opportunities, manage all University student exchange relationships, and
provide advice to students and faculty regarding risks
associated with travel abroad.
Drawing these services together is intended to foster
a consolidated, service-based, approach to international opportunities for domestic students, helping the
University meet its target of encouraging greater international engagement of the student body. Ultimately,
the Global Commons could be closely associated with
academic programming, including the International
Studies Program discussed in Section B above.
Improved ICT Services for Students
Our new campus portal, PAWS (Personalized Access
to Web Services), is an excellent example of technology that supports both the academic mission of the
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
University and delivery of business services. With links
to learning management tools, information resources,
and a range of campus services, PAWS provides personalized “one-stop shopping” for everyone on campus. A critical element of our new vision for on-line,
on-demand service delivery, it is a major component
for SESD’s Student Central operation, a cornerstone
of our service delivery model for student computing,
and the means by which our users will access our new
administrative support systems. Despite a quiet roll-out,
12,000 students, faculty, staff, and alumni used PAWS
in its first six months of operation, and our community
of content and service providers continues to expand as
more units see the potential of this technology. PAWS
is being used, for example, to manage and distribute
course content, to provide “single sign-on” linkages to
the Library and other services, to provide Universitywide tools for e-mail and electronic calendaring, and
to support communities with shared interests, from
research groups to squash players.
support researchers and scholars, an examination of
ways in which to enhance the undergraduate learners’ experience of research, an expanded mandate for
the Gwenna Moss Teaching and Learning Centre, and
an increased
investment in
The formation and maintenance
research chairs
of research groups—an important
and graduate
structural development—will be
scholarships
supported, and new ways of improving
(as described
above). The
the linkage between research and
importance of
teaching will be explored.
research funding of all types,
but particularly Tri-Council grants, a greater emphasis
on knowledge transfer, intellectual property management, and research governance and compliance at all
levels, are recognized as forces re-shaping the research
and learning environment for faculty and students. All
deserve attention during this planning cycle.
We recognize the need to improve ICT services for our
students, and we will do so through a system which
they support and which they readily access. We will
continue to enhance the ICT services for students in
other ways, such as by investing in technology to support the growing needs of students who bring their
own computers to campus. By the spring of 2005, for
example, we will have almost 100 wireless “hot spots”
throughout the campus. As another example, network
connections will be installed in the on-campus residences for the Fall 2004 term. Our vision for student
computing extends beyond the services offered through
our college-based and open-access laboratories. We will
continue to monitor student needs and interests and
work to establish services which they value and utilize.
Leveraging Ideas
Investing in Research and
Teaching Support
Mindful of the breadth and diversity of the research
interests and activities of its faculty, during this first
planning cycle the University of Saskatchewan will
invest in research and teaching initiatives consistent
with the Strategic Directions. College and unit plans all
support the collegial pursuit of research strengths and
excellence (including the concept of ‘areas of pre-eminence’) using, in particular, the opportunities afforded
by increased investments in research infrastructure (e.g.
Indirect Costs Program and the CFI Operating Fund).
Key initiatives include purpose-designed programs to
We will continue to offer programs to support research
grant preparation and research group development
begun under the federal Indirect Costs Program through
the leadership of the Vice-President Research (Proposal
Development Awards, Collaborative Grant and Research
Group Development Awards, the IC College Priorities
Fund, Matching Grant Program, New Faculty Start-ups).
These programs, together with investments in Grant
Development Officers, Technology Transfer Officers,
and new SSHRC and NSERC Coordinators, represent a
significant enhancement of the University’s capability
to assist researchers in responding to grant opportunities, new competitions, and calls-for-proposals, and in
developing key partnerships, mentoring, and support
systems. More concerted effort is required in research
communications and celebration of research excellence.
A review of research policies and, for example, practices
concerning contract research overhead and research
appointments, is essential to ensure that our support
structures are adequate to achieve the goal of increased
research intensiveness. The formation and maintenance
of research groups—an important structural development—will be supported, and new ways of improving
the linkage between research and teaching will be
explored. A renewed emphasis on international development—with the goal by the end of this planning cycle
of increasing our international research activity fivefold—will be launched in the Office of Vice-President
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
25
Research. The Office of the Vice-President Research,
and more specifically the new Industry Liaison Office
(ILO), will play a strategic role in facilitating the establishment of research alliances (within the University
but also with external private and public organizations)
by linking U of S researchers together and with outside
collaborators. Successful partnerships with external
organizations at the front-end of the research enterprise
are more likely to yield productive back-end outcomes
(e.g. commercialization of research results, licensing
agreements, spin-off companies, etc.).
The
A key linkage that will be strengthened in this planning cycle is the relationship between the Office of
the Vice-President (Research) and the College of
Graduate Studies and Research. Our institutional goal
of increasing research intensiveness cannot realistically be achieved without considering together faculty,
postdoctoral fellows, and graduate student issues,
currently widely dispersed among several different
administrative bodies.
University of Saskatchewan
A new structure may
be necessary to ensure
must dedicate itself to
essential leadership for
excellence in teaching
initiatives that affect
as well as research.
the academic research
community and graduate students. Recently, an Associate Vice-President
(Research) position was combined with the position
of Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, reporting
to the Provost and Vice-President Academic. This tie
between the research and the academic portfolios has
proven useful but has not fostered a comprehensive
approach to the issues. A new Associate Vice-President
(Research) position will be created in the Office of the
Vice-President (Research) as a full-time administrative and managerial opportunity (fully funded by the
Indirect Costs Program) with responsibilities to work
closely with the AVP(R)/Dean of Graduate Studies
and Research and (with appropriate consultation) to
develop a strong and functional relationship aimed at
the interface between graduate students and research
policy administration. The incumbent will have a clear
mandate to bring forward ideas and practices that will
help graduate students and faculty support the common
goal of increasing research intensiveness.
A New Learning Centre
The University of Saskatchewan must dedicate itself to
excellence in teaching as well as research. Many college
26
plans identified improvements to their teaching methods and experiential learning opportunities for students
as important goals for the University over this planning
cycle. The Gwenna Moss Teaching and Learning Centre,
established just over three years ago, has attracted a
strong following of primarily new faculty members and
graduate students to the range of programs and services
it provides. It has not, however, attracted existing faculty in any number. This is not the fault of the Centre; a
lack of clear institutional direction has impeded development of both strategy and structure for teaching and
learning at the University of Saskatchewan. Instead of
concentration and coherence, we have scattered entities
and disparate initiatives. Elements of a strategy exist,
but they lack a clear focus. In short, we have many of
the pieces (in both structures and individuals), but we
lack the plan that brings them together.
During this planning cycle a Foundational Document
on Teaching and Learning will be developed through
a broadly consultative process. It will address the
University’s commitment to teaching and learning,
outline expectations of all faculty in the area of teaching, describe best practices in teaching and teaching
methodologies, indicate appropriate technologies, and
highlight evaluation systems. The general goal will
be to help create new ways in which to enhance the
undergraduate learning experience at the University
of Saskatchewan. For example, it will be necessary to
examine ways in which key information literacy objectives are met at the University of Saskatchewan, how
students experience research in different academic settings, and how improvements to curricula and the overall learning environment might be implemented and
measured. A particular focus will be to help students
and faculty understand the impact that research can
have on teaching and learning at each stage in the educational process – to enhance the experience of research
by undergraduates and thereby ensure they receive the
benefits, and appreciate the potential (including the
opportunity of graduate study), of attending a researchintensive university.
As this Foundational Document is being constructed,
organizational changes will be made to enhance our
capacity to help faculty meet their teaching and learning
responsibilities. Specifically, immediate consideration
will be given to creating a new Learning Centre, likely
located within the Main Library, which will reinforce
and build on the work of the Gwenna Moss Teaching
and Learning Centre. This work will be expanded to
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
create the critical mass needed to ensure that teaching
and learning, in all of its dimensions, are examined and
models are provided. This Learning Centre, which will
be an academic/administrative unit, will:
• promote and encourage scholarship and innovation
in teaching, with a view to improving learning.
• assist departments and colleges in identifying and
applying best practices in teaching.
• embrace and support the full gamut of instructional
approaches, including face-to-face, distributed
learning, blended learning, problem-based learning,
and experiential learning.
• include an instructional design component to help
individual faculty, departments, or colleges pursue
innovative approaches to course delivery.
• be both a service unit and a research centre on
teaching and learning.
ing, learning, and higher education should be able
to acquire an affiliation with the Centre, perhaps as
Associates or Adjuncts. At the same time, the Centre
cannot be only a research entity. There is an important
role to play in supporting innovation in pedagogy, in
pursuing best practices, and in connecting with external organizations. In addition, the Centre should play
a critical role in course development, exploring new
pedagogical approaches with faculty, assisting them in
presenting their content in more effective ways, and
evaluating delivery methods. To manage all of this the
Centre must have an academic leader; it must also
continue to be closely associated with Gwenna Moss,
the first Associate Vice-President Academic, and a
leader in instructional development at the University of
Saskatchewan.
This Centre is in the early stages of conceptualization
and development. There will be time, during this planning cycle, to craft its key features. We fully anticipate a
transition period for adjustments and greater precision.
• include existing units, in whole or in part, and
existing personnel.
University of Saskatchewan Chairs
• assume responsibility for some current institutional
commitments to external organizations (e.g., TEL
program, Campus Saskatchewan, and COHERE).
Specific investments at the University of Saskatchewan
in research and teaching will be considered in the form
of University of Saskatchewan Chairs to be awarded
throughout the University in this planning cycle and
beyond. The purpose of these chairs is to provide academic leadership either in areas of pre-eminence or in
areas in which programmatic change is required. Five of
these Chairs were discussed earlier in Section B. They
represent a commitment to support existing and new
research and teaching across disciplines with the goal of
achieving national or international recognition.
• have a significant physical presence (as indicated
above, most likely in the Library).
We are not alone in seeking to provide this type of
facility. We must ensure that we take full advantage of
the experience of other universities, such as Calgary,
where services have been consolidated and scholarship
emphasized.
The Gwenna Moss Teaching and Learning Centre
(GMTLC) will be central. The Centre for Distributed
Learning (CDL), the Instructional Design Group (IDG),
those parts of Extension Credit Studies (ECS) that
support distributed learning, and other scholars in the
Division with interests in distributed learning are obvious candidates for inclusion. The Division of Media
and Technology (DMT), components of Information
Technology Services (ITS), and the Library itself are all
possible additions, with attention paid to appropriate
organizational divisions.
Serious consideration must be given to including in
the Centre’s mandate the stimulation and fostering of
research about teaching and learning. Faculty from
across the campus whose research bears on teach-
Beyond these initial five, the University intends to
use the current Capital Campaign to create additional
opportunities for strategic investment in our research
and teaching programs. A collegial process will be
established to determine the distribution of these
Chairs, paying close attention to emerging areas of preeminence, and the recognized needs of the colleges and
research centres on campus. Each Chair will be accompanied by an increased investment in student funding,
perhaps in the form of Graduate Teaching Fellowships
specifically aimed at providing PhD students with
appropriate teaching opportunities. Key measures of
success will be improved grant performance, increased
undergraduate and graduate student involvement in the
research activities of the chair holder, program and curriculum development in the area of the chairholder, and
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
27
increased graduate student supervision. The University
will create an evaluation protocol to ensure that these
critical success factors, including institutional leadership and teaching, have been achieved prior to renewal.
Enhancing Research Structures
The University of Saskatchewan has many research
networks, centres, institutes, groups, and other structures that are of enormous value to the institution. For
example, a handful of research centres, reporting to the
Vice-President Research, accounted for more than 16
per cent of the total research revenue generated in 2003.
These and other research groups and centres contribute
to the intellectual life of the University through direct
research, state-of-the-art facilities, communication and
public outreach activities, and services that promote or
enhance particular research themes and techniques.
It is no longer feasible or sensible to regard research
centres as peripheral to the activities of the University;
instead, these centres
should assume greater
It is no longer feasible or
sensible to regard research prominence within
larger research netcentres as peripheral to the
works. A new initiative
activities of the University; is required to explore
instead, these centres should
and implement the
assume greater prominence appropriate research
within larger research networks. structures – networks
and collaborative
centres – that are needed to allow these contributions
to be fully realized and integrated with institution-level
activities of colleges and other units.
Part of this integration involves governance and
management structures. This work can build on
the University Council’s recently approved policy
on research centres, but it also needs to map to the
comprehensive oversight structure designed for the
Integrated Planning initiative, with each centre mapping
to a college or Vice-Presidential portfolio and with designated deans for multi-college research centres. Part of
this integration also involves a thoughtful consideration
of incentives and structures to ensure that the management of research centres is guided by the Strategic
Directions and priorities of the University. Building on
this base, the University will undertake a comprehensive discussion of governance arrangements, during this
planning cycle, with the goal of increasing coordination
28
and accountability without compromising the flexibility
that our organizational units require to compete for
funding and support.
On the management side, the integration of financial
and human resource systems also needs to be considered, where integration represents the opportunity for
significant savings. Most important, all of the research
entities must have the opportunity to engage in graduate programming beyond the current system of adjunct
supervisory appointments. Where it is academically
sound, the authority for graduate programs, including
supervision and support, should be located in the unit
with the greatest influence and contribution to the
academic mission. The College of Graduate Studies and
Research will, naturally, retain responsibility for the
academic integrity of these programs, but where appropriate responsibility for intellectual vitality and quality
should be located in the centres themselves.
Libraries
For many disciplines on campus, the Library is central
to their academic vitality. Over the last several years the
University has endeavored to provide the Library with
an annual increase of five percent in its acquisitions
budget. Coupled with other actions, these increases
have enabled the Library to slow down the serials cancellation project, although the systemic gap between the
budget increases and price increases continues to make
such measures necessary. To strengthen its service to
scholarship, the Library has taken the lead in acquiring
electronic journals, in significantly increasing electronic
access both on and off campus, and in making the
Library a welcoming place for faculty and students.
In each of the next three years over this planning cycle,
the University will continue to provide a five percent
increase to the Library’s acquisitions budget. This funding commitment acknowledges the Library’s role as a
critical resource for faculty and students and recognizes
the Library’s activities in supporting, strengthening,
and extending the academic mission of the University,
in both research intensiveness and in education of
undergraduate and graduate students. It is also made
on the understanding that the Library’s services and
collections will continue to evolve to serve the changing
needs of faculty and students. Of particular importance
in this regard is the Learning Centre discussed earlier.
Given that the Library represents a central resource
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
which could be used to provide an expanded set of
services that the entire campus can access, its location,
and its representation of the ideals and practices of the
University community as a whole, the Library would
provide a fitting home for the Learning Centre, extending the contributions of the Gwenna Moss Teaching and
Learning Centre already located on the ground floor.
D. Changing Practices
Integrated Planning originated with a promise that
the University of Saskatchewan would review all of its
practices and priorities. Discussions about the Strategic
Directions and Foundational Documents provided
clear and instructive guidance to the University about
our academic, instructional, and community service
obligations. To date, there has been less conversation
about how we organize our internal activities. While
administrative unit heads are concerned about ongoing
business improvements and have initiated many service
enhancements in their individual units, there has been
no systematic review of business practices across the
University.
Over the past decade, the University has made significant changes in its resource allocations. We have
secured provincial funding for expanded programs
in computer science, nursing, and medicine and we
have shifted resources within and between colleges.
Significant differential cuts have been applied to colleges and administrative units. More recently, we have
had the first sustained discussion about the reality of
a structural budget deficit and the need to attend very
carefully to the patterns of enrolment and retention
at the University of Saskatchewan. We have, in the
process, become far more aware of the nature of our
financial allocations, inconsistencies in our commitments to departments and units, and rigid adherence to
historical patterns of funding and support. Integrated
Planning has taught us about the fundamental importance of monitoring our resource use very carefully and
has convinced us of the need to take steps to attend to
our institutional priorities, in part, by revisiting some
of the budgetary practices and financial arrangements
that have governed the University for many years. We
must be prepared to make changes – in some cases
significant changes – in order to meet our institutional
objectives. No area of the University should or will
escape scrutiny as part of the ongoing evaluation of
the institution’s resources and expenditure patterns.
As stewards of the public’s money, the University of
Saskatchewan has a fiduciary and moral responsibility
to apply its resources to the institution’s top priorities in
terms of teaching, research, and community service.
In recent months, institutional business practices
have been examined by the Associate Vice-Presidents,
through the Administrative Committee on Integrated
Planning (ACIP). Commencing in 2004 and building
on the work of the Associate Vice-Presidents, significant changes in our business practices will be made.
Changes to the practices described below could result
in significant savings from a more efficient and targeted
use of resources, a more entrepreneurial environment,
administrative efficiencies, postponed expenditures on
facilities, redeployment of resources, and the allocation/
reallocation of funds and personnel to areas of potentially high return. Savings and revenue generated from
these administrative and financial changes will be
applied, directly or indirectly, to the core teaching and
research mission of the University of Saskatchewan.
What follows represents the first phase of our new
business practices and allocation procedures. As the
planning cycle unfolds, we will be identifying other
areas where significant changes may be required. Our
purpose here is clear: to become a more responsive,
more flexible, cost-effective, and well-managed institution, better able to attach our resource allocations to the
highest institutional priorities.
Graduate Funding Allocations
Commencing in 2005/06, the College of Graduate
Studies and Research will change the allocation of
funds under the Devolved Scholarship Program, which
currently assigns $4.2 million in graduate support to
specific academic units. While the details of this change
have yet to be worked out and the college has yet to
consult widely, it is clear that the current arrangements
cannot, and should not, be sustained. To date, graduate
scholarship funding has been driven largely by historical commitments and student enrolments. In the future,
resources will be allocated in greater proportion to areas
of institutional priority and high academic achievement.
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
29
We need to ensure that our graduate scholarship program parallels the Strategic Directions and supports the
program commitments outlined in this Integrated Plan.
Simply put, we need to move to a different model.
Over the coming months, the Dean of Graduate Studies
and Research will engage the Graduate Council in a
discussion of the policies that should accompany the
new graduate student
No area of the University should
funding arrangements.
While the policies have
or will escape scrutiny as part
yet to be finalized, it
of the ongoing evaluation of
is anticipated that a
the institution’s resources and maximum of 50% of
expenditure patterns.
the funding currently
available through the
Devolved Funding Program will continue to be available
in the future on the existing basis, with transition to the
new allocation process phased in starting in 2005. The
remainder of the funding (which will be increased by
a minimum of $1.0 million as described in Section C
above) will be distributed to departments and academic
units on the basis of criteria which have yet to be confirmed and which may include:
1. the quality of the eligible students, as determined
by the proportion of students with Canada
Scholarships, Tri-Council Scholarships, or other
national/prestigious scholarships;
2. the proportion of students registered in the highest
possible degree granted in the discipline. In most
instances, this will be the PhD, while, for some
disciplines, such as Law and Fine Arts, it may be a
Masters degree;
3. the success rate of graduate students, as illustrated
by the proportion of graduate students who
complete their degree requirements in a timely
fashion;
4. the quality of the academic program, as determined
by SPR;
5. the quality and quantity of research, scholarly
and artistic work conducted in the department,
the proportion of faculty with Tri-Council or other
competitive funding (compared to national averages
for the discipline), and the availability of a critical
mass of faculty and students.
30
The College of Graduate Studies and Research will
begin discussions shortly to reach agreement on the
proposed criteria (identified above) and to determine an
appropriate relative weighting of each factor to establish
unit allocations for the 2005/06 academic year. Units
will continue to be advised well in advance of their
annual allocation. Implementation details will be widely
communicated once finalized.
While phasing in this new approach will allow departments to meet their obligations to current students,
the University is determined to ensure that the nature
of graduate student support changes to a differential
allocation model aimed at supporting the primary
objectives described in the Strategic Initiatives section
(above) and in the Strategic Directions (i.e., increasing research intensity and making the University of
Saskatchewan a major presence in graduate education).
Tuition and Fees
The University of Saskatchewan affirms its determination to assess tuition fees for undergraduate programs
using the ‘national norm tuition policy’ throughout this
planning cycle. While some tuition fees for undergraduate programs may be assessed differentially, tuition will
stay within the national norm for specific programs. For
example, students in Commerce programs can expect
to pay more than students in Arts programs because,
across the country, commerce and business programs
are assessed at a higher rate than other programs. The
University will undertake a review of the policy in
2006/07 as it gears up for the next planning cycle.
At the graduate level, a review of the current graduate tuition fees policy will be undertaken early in the
planning cycle by the Dean of Graduate Studies and
Research in collaboration with PCIP and the Budget
Committee of Council to ensure that the existing policy
continues to be justified. This review will involve the
development of a series of policies related to professional Masters programs, including a definition of these
programs, a fee structure to support these programs,
and consideration of student eligibility for scholarships
and other funding support. It may also include a review
of the variety of Masters programs (thesis, non-thesis/
project, and professional master’s) to ensure that legitimate costs are recognized and appropriate supports are
available to students.
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
International Services
The University of Saskatchewan is undertaking a
major reorganization of its international services, in
line with the insights gained through the creation of
the International Foundational Document. Through
the campus-wide discussions, it became clear that
the current arrangement, centralized in University of
Saskatchewan International (USI), was not meeting
campus wide expectations. Duplication of services
across the University, limited resources, and a complicated mandate made it difficult for USI to promote
and support international activities at the University.
Over the past ten years, the University has fallen
behind comparatively-sized institutions in terms of
international engagement and significant steps have to
be taken to support and expand our commitments in
this vital field. To this end, USI’s three main functions
– assisting with the internationalization of the student
experience, supporting international research, and coordinating international events and visits – will be located
in larger, cognate, units.
Internationalizing the Student Experience
USI’s current commitments to supporting domestic
students wishing to study overseas will be assigned to
the Global Commons. The Global Commons will draw
together staff and resources currently assigned to SESD,
the College of Graduate Studies and Research, and
the Centre for Second Language Instruction (CSLI), as
well as several colleges and USI. This new unit, which
will coordinate recruitment, support for international
students, and opportunities for domestic students, will
have a mandate to increase the University’s overall
international student enrolment from 4% to 8%, with
a primary emphasis on undergraduate students, and to
double the participation of domestic students in international activities by 2007.
Promoting International Contract Research
and Training
Responsibility for the promotion of international
contract research will be relocated to the Office of
the Vice-President (Research). The new International
Research Office (IRO) will be charged with spearheading the coordination, promotion, and implementation of
international contract research activities, with a view to
encouraging a dramatic expansion in our success in this
area. The University of Saskatchewan should be a major
participant in international research, training, development, and academic consulting work; at present, we
play a very minor role in this field. In addition, we will
need to attract major contracts where we are the major
executing agency. While the IRO will have the modest
goal of doubling our international research activity by
2007, its unofficial target will be several times that level.
Protocol and International Visits
The University of Saskatchewan hosts dozens of representatives from other countries and other institutions
each year. The task of managing these high profile and
often very ceremonial activities will be moved from USI
to the University Secretary in the Office of the President.
The Protocol Office will also assist with the administrative support for the International Affairs Committee of
Council and will serve as the central clearinghouse for
all international academic agreements.
Enrolment Incentives and Revenue
Enhancements
The University of Saskatchewan has used a variety of
means, from official quotas to complex revenue sharing
arrangements, to manage revenue transfers relating to
enrolment. All of these pre-dated the implementation
of the Saskatchewan Universities Funding Mechanism
(SUFM). The implication of this funding mechanism
must now be fully appreciated by the University community, in particular, the fact that our activities drive
the resources allocated under SUFM. During this planning cycle, each college will be given a set of planning
parameters indicating, among other things, enrolment
expectations (undergraduate, graduate, and international). These are based on the Enrolment Plan, specifically the intent to increase overall student enrolments,
and offer opportunities for some colleges to secure
additional resources or avoid base budget reductions.
From 2004/05 forward, base budgets allocations
will take into account changes to enrolment and, for
selected colleges, introduction of differential tuitions.
Other things being equal, higher enrolments will result
in higher base budgets; declining enrolments will,
accordingly, result in reduced budgets. All changes will
be phased in and the University will ensure that contractual obligations are met and activities deemed to be
in the institution’s collective best interest are funded.
The University will make significant changes in the
allocation of funds secured through the differential
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
31
3. At the end of each academic year, the colleges
will submit to the Provost’s Office a report of
appointments made, an explanation of how the
college plan has been implemented or amended,
and an updated and prioritized list of planned
academic appointments for the next academic year
(prepared in anticipation of receiving a budget as
outlined in the planning cycle allocation).
fee assessed on undergraduate international students.
Instead of the fixed budget established in 2002/03, the
University will provide funding based on course enrolments, which are expected to increase dramatically as
the institution’s recruiting efforts in this area expand.
The revenue will be shared between the central administration, which will provide specific and fixed funding
to the SESD and the colleges teaching the students.
Faculty Position Management
Although the Complement Plan is still under development and is expected to address a full range of issues
related to faculty recruitment and retention, it is clear
that some fundamental changes to the management
of faculty positions are required. Currently, the faculty
complement is managed on a position-by-position basis
as the requests are submitted. Seldom do these requests
ask for anything other than replacement in the same
discipline in which the vacancy arose. There is a strong
sense of position entitlement and little opportunity for
the Provost’s Office to evaluate the priority of requests.
Our history has been that all existing allocations are
assumed to be ongoing and the highly symbolic use of
position numbers has reinforced the notion that faculty
positions “belong” not just to departments but to subdisciplines within departments.
As of 2004, faculty positions will be managed more strategically and the decisions about allocations to departments and/or disciplines will be made at the college
level. Effective July 1 2004, the use of faculty position
numbers will be terminated.
Commencing in 2004, the management of faculty positions will proceed in the following fashion:
1. In April-June 2004, the Provost’s Office will provide
each college with an indication of its financial
resources over the rest of the planning cycle.
2. Based on this resource allocation, each college
will present the Provost’s Office with a complete
prioritized list of desired faculty appointments. The
priority list will indicate how the college intends
to respond to planned retirements, unexpected
resignations, and manage the funding. Where
appropriate, the college will also indicate the rank
and salary expectations associated with specific
positions. The prioritized position list will explicitly
address equity and diversity issues.
32
Assignment of Duties and Recognition
of Graduate Teaching
In an increasing number of colleges and departments,
the assignment of duties now recognizes different
forms of contribution. Formulaic approaches to teaching assignments are giving way to a focus on equitable
workloads that take into consideration research, teaching, and service contributions. It is critical that this
process continue until all academic units on campus
can demonstrate a commitment to equity in workload
among its academic staff. In this regard, it is essential
that the University of Saskatchewan take decisive action
to formally recognize graduate teaching. The work
associated with in-class lecturing, instruction of reading
courses, teaching in one-on-one situations, research
supervision, and service on advisory committees at the
graduate level is clearly of enormous significance our
achieving the Strategic Directions and is highly valued
by faculty across the institution. Without this recognition, it is most unlikely that we will be successful in
establishing the University of Saskatchewan as a major
presence in graduate education.
Beginning in 2004/05, Deans will be required to report
on workload assignments in some detail (department
by department in the case of departmentalized colleges)
and on progress toward equity in assignment of duties.
These reports will form part of the evaluation process
for deans.
Addressing Low Enrolments
The University of Saskatchewan has not completed a
substantial review of its program and course structure
for many years. We continue to offer a broad array of
courses and programs, a small number of which attract
very few students. It is imperative that the University be
more intentional about the use of its limited resources
and hold colleges and departments responsible for
enrolment patterns that cannot be sustained.
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
While implementation details have yet to be finalized,
programs which graduate a small number of majors
each year – even if they were rated highly under SPR
– will be examined by the Provost’s Office and Council
committees with a view to closing and/or amalgamating many of them in the coming three years. All students in these programs will be assured of the courses
they require to graduate. While all of the criteria have
not been fully established, one important component of
this examination will be the ‘service’ teaching provided
by these units. In the same vein, low enrolment courses
will also be the subject of review with colleges required
to establish a minimum base of student numbers for the
offering of any specific course.
Managing Classroom Resources and
Timetables
The University’s classrooms, laboratories, and studios
are among the most crucial physical resources available
to the institution. It is imperative that we make good
and effective use of these facilities, while responding
as systematically as we can to student demands and
needs. Over the remainder of the planning cycle, the
University will develop a proactive, responsive, and efficient means of allocating classroom resources. This will
require better use of “non-peak” times, including early
morning, late afternoon/early evening, and weekends.
We should consider expanding our spring and summer
session offerings, after a careful review of demand,
and we must do more to ensure that the course offerings match identified need. We should also consider
increasing the number of single-term courses so that we
can better regulate our intake of new students over the
course of the academic year.
More flexible approaches to scheduling of courses and
student admissions will also be considered to ensure
that the University makes maximum use of available
faculty and classroom time. These reviews will, in all
probability, identify the need for significant shifts. They
are also expected to capitalize on appropriate opportunities to employ technology enhanced learning methods
and facilities, both to assist on-campus students and to
meet the needs of students studying at a distance. The
University must make a greater effort to offer courses
outside of preferred times, and potentially in different
formats than has been the norm. In all such cases, care
will be taken to ensure that appropriate pedagogical
considerations are taken into account in making final
determinations.
More flexible approaches will also be required to the
delivery of instructional programs. With a grant from
the Pew Charitable Trusts, over 30 colleges and universities in the United States have used technology to
provide an alternative, blended, learning environment
for large enrolment, introductory, courses in multiple
disciplines, including the humanities, quantitative
subjects, social sciDepartments and colleges will
ences, and natural
be expected to participate
sciences. In addition
to providing relief
in the effective and efficient
on spaces for large
allocation of classrooms and
enrolment courses,
other teaching spaces.
the Program in Course
Design has reduced
costs, increased course completion rates, improved
student retention, and increase student satisfaction
with the mode of instruction. Such an approach might
relieve some of the pressure on classroom space we currently experience. Proposals arising from the proposed
Teaching and Learning Foundational Document may
also inform our thinking in how students experience
instruction at this University.
It is possible that with selected limited renovation of
existing classroom space, such as knocking out walls,
some existing classrooms might be converted into
rooms that would accommodate larger class sizes.
However, given the length of the planning period and
the time associated with construction projects, with
the exception of some colleges where small amounts
of instructional space may be added, the University
does not anticipate increasing instructional facilities in
this planning cycle. It is therefore imperative that we
ensure that our available classroom space is effectively
managed. Departments and colleges will be expected
to participate in the effective and efficient allocation
of classrooms and other teaching spaces. SESD and
Facilities Management will review our current use and
configuration of teaching facilities and will report their
findings to the Provost’s Office, Deans’ Council, and
University Council. It is anticipated that changes in
scheduling, room allocation, room configurations, and
room usages will be operational by the end of this planning cycle.
Human Resource Management
While describing an organization’s human resources
as its greatest asset is so commonplace as to become
almost trite, it is surely true for a modern univer-
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
33
sity. Our academic reputation rests on the teaching,
research, and professional abilities of our faculty. The
quality of our graduates is determined in large measure
by the talents of our instructors. The integrity of our
financial, registrarial, and other administrative systems
depends on the skills of our staff members. And the
quality of the physical environment reflects the contributions of the facilities management personnel. We
must value, reward, recognize, support, and otherwise
cultivate our employees, in order to ensure that they
remain active, contributing, members of the University
community. That means creating positive and productive work and learning environments. We must ensure,
as a matter of first principle, that we are a highly valued
employer, known for our integrity, compassion, and
genuine commitment to our employees. Within this
context, several key fiscal and managerial considerations stand out:
1. We require a comprehensive Complement Plan that
recognizes diverse employee groups on campus, in
order to ensure that we are forward-looking in our
preparations in all areas of employment.
2. Given that salaries account for a significant
portion of our budget, the University has to seek
the delicate balance between an increasingly
competitive labor market and the available
resources. We must constantly review our
compensation packages to ensure they are
competitive in the local, national, and international
context.
3. We require a detailed assessment of the short
and long-term challenges associated with being
competitive across the institution. In a growing
number of areas, the University faces extraordinary
pressures in its attempts to hire and retain faculty
and senior staff. We cannot approach these
challenges on a case by case basis; we need to
consider the longer-term implications of the
changing national and international marketplace.
4. The University needs to review its approach to
benefits, to balance the need to provide support for
the health and wellness of individual employees
with ensuring that we are making the most
efficient use of our expenditures. The primary
emphasis in this area will be to improve design of
benefit programs, review administrative practices,
consolidate benefit plans, and contain costs.
34
Increasing Cost Recoveries
The University of Saskatchewan supports an array of
ancillary services, government programs, and other
activities on the campus. While we are pleased to welcome these various organizations and programs—the
vast majority of which contribute significantly to
the success of the academic enterprise—we have to
ensure a full accounting of the cost of hosting them
at the University. A variety of non-university agencies
are located on the campus, including Agriculture and
Agri-Food Canada, the National Research Council, and
Innovation Place. Apart from a close association with
the University as part of its physical campus, these
agencies benefit from landscaping, snow removal, street
lighting, and other “municipal-like” services at much
reduced cost. The University will examine the current
“municipal” levy assessed against our “tenants” to
ensure that the charge fully addresses the cost of providing service.
Judgment is required. Where these activities are directly
tied to the academic endeavors of our faculty, students,
and staff these expenditures are justified. Where they
are more tangential to our core mission, the support
needs to be carefully examined. If the direct benefit to
the academic mission cannot be clearly demonstrated,
the University must look for a more complete recovery
of actual costs. Over the planning cycle, the University
will complete an audit of all support provided to each
tenant, non-academic, and affiliated unit and will assess
their overall contribution to the University’s core missions. Where appropriate (and where possible), the
levies, payments, and fees secured from these organizations will be re-examined and increased.
Increasing Research Contract
Recoveries and Revenues
The University has a set of policies and procedures on
research contracts and overheads related to research
activities. While we have not been systematic in the
application of these policies and procedures, it is important that the University community understands that
these rates will increase and that they will be more consistently applied to ensure that they provide appropriate
revenues to the University. The Vice-President Research
will engage the Budget Committee and the Research,
Scholarly and Artistic Committee in this review which
will include intellectual property agreements, procedures regarding outside consulting work, and our gen-
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
eral approach to contract research. Perhaps more importantly, once the review is completed, the University will
insist that agreed-upon rules be systematically applied
across campus. At the same time, significant investments (funded through the Indirect Costs Program) in
commercialization of research should help foster a more
entrepreneurial institutional culture.
Managing Student Registration and
Fees
The University of Saskatchewan collects millions of
dollars each year in tuition and related fees. The management of this income must be carefully reviewed
and evaluated, particularly as significant institutional
practices are not yet aligned with national norms and
international practice. In particular, the University will
consider the following:
1. the adoption of a registration deposit for all
applicants;
2. a revised policy on tuition refunds;
3. an examination of athletic fees for part-time
students;
4. greater coordination of non-academic fees, charges,
and refunds;
5. an examination of the University’s practices on bad
debts;
6. new assessment procedures for graduate
registrations; and
7. a comprehensive review of all student fees, such
as special examination fees, invigilation fees,
and other activities which are currently provided
without charge.
The revised fee schedule and policies should be implemented by the 2005/06 academic year.
Standardizing Systems
While individual, departmental, and college autonomy
is a much valued hallmark of the University of
Saskatchewan, the proliferation of systems, practices,
and expenditures on campus costs the institution a
substantial amount of money in lost efficiencies and
incompatibilities. The University must give careful
consideration to standardizing systems and centralizing
expenditures while recognizing the needs for flexibility
and diversity. Given that the University’s registrarial,
student information, and financial systems will be
consolidated around the Banner platform, colleges and
administrative units will be strongly encouraged to use
these central systems for these activities.
Beginning in 2005, separate registration arrangements
for graduate, undergraduate, summer session, offcampus, and other students will be consolidated. In
addition, the University will consider standardized
approaches to Information Technology (hardware and
software), elimination of redundant or duplicated services, centralized volume purchasing, and the consolidation of stores and purchasing offices on campus.
Maintaining the Campus Buildings
and Grounds
The University of Saskatchewan is justifiably proud
of its remarkable environment, including its physical plant. The greystone buildings and green spaces
are a major feature of the institution and help attract
students, faculty, and staff to the campus. We must
proceed prudently and cautiously with our expenditures
in this area, respecting the need to protect our longterm investment and minimize life-cycle costs while
balancing the need to meet pressing demands in other
areas of our operation. The University will look for
additional savings through sustainable development
including energy conservation and management, recycling, changes to design practices and customization of
operations, changes to landscaping and maintenance
standards, and other changes in our current operations.
We will examine, on a building by building basis, the
current maintenance standards to ascertain our willingness to adjust our expenditure levels. At the same time,
the University must be a responsible steward of these
valuable assets; it cannot compromise on several key
areas, particularly human safety, regulatory requirements, and life-cycle costing.
Outsourcing of Services
As part of our ongoing review of service arrangements
and contracts, the University will adopt a very simple
policy: if the University of Saskatchewan cannot provide
a service at a competitive rate internally, on a forprofit basis, or, at a minimum, a cost-recovery basis,
the service will be discontinued and, where possible,
alternate arrangements considered. Conversely, the
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
35
University should examine its commitments to external
professional agencies with a view to determining if
the institution would be served more efficiently by the
establishment of in-house professional capacity. For
example, it may be appropriate for the University to
share the cost of recruitment of senior administrators
with colleges and administrative units through a more
appropriate allocation of costs based on the sources
of revenue, including the relative proportion of the
operating budget allocated to the unit, within the entire
budgetary operation of a particular unit.
Evaluation and Appropriate Use of
University Assets
Over its almost century-long existence, the University
has secured ownership of a wide variety of physical
assets, ranging from equipment to an art collection, and
lands, including farms, research stations, and an arts
facility. It is vital that these assets be reviewed, evaluated, and where appropriate, redeployed. Where the
cost of maintaining a particular property exceeds the
benefits, serious consideration should be given to full
disinvestment. To this end, by the end of this planning
cycle at the very latest, the University must complete a
full evaluation of its current physical assets and properties and assess the degree to which each contributes to
the core missions of the University.
The process of evaluation should extend to all of the
University’s accounts, including the surpluses and
deficits contained in many of the 1,500 special purpose
accounts. The institution needs to determine if the
funds in any of these accounts could be available for
general operations, and/or considered to be part of the
University’s reserve, thus freeing the current reserve for
other purposes.
E. Enriching the Physical Environment
Faculty, students, and staff expect facilities and services
at a premier research and teaching university that will
support their academic, research, teaching, and learning endeavors. Members of the University community
expect to work and learn in buildings and grounds that
meet safety and code standards, which are reasonably comfortable, and where system failures are rare.
Buildings must be maintained to meet basic comfort
and environmental standards, to address the functional
demands of academic and research initiatives, and to
accommodate program needs. Equally, an investment
within these buildings must be provided and maintained in information and communication technology,
multi-media systems, and equipment essential to the
success of the academic and research mandate of the
University of Saskatchewan. In combination, these
efforts must ensure the long term, life cycle, sustainability of all assets or accept the risk that critical research
work, grants, and teaching programs may be placed in
jeopardy.
Enriching the environment involves strategic assessment and planning of the campus physical facilities,
utilities infrastructure, computer network infrastructure,
multimedia technology along with associated capital
assets needed to protect and support all University
activities. Critical components of this strategic assessment include:
36
• the development of new academic and research
facilities through a major capital project program
with associated investment in capital equipment to
support program operation;
• an investment in Operations and Maintenance as
part of Cyclical Renewal (“Keep Up”) and Deferred
Maintenance (“Catch Up”) programs to protect the
physical assets of the institution;
• support of the ICT infrastructure (desktop
computers, laboratory facilities, servers, campus
computer network) that is woven into the fabric of
academic and research programs;
• the recognition that current teaching practices
and emerging pedagogical techniques sometimes
require the acquisition and maintenance of highly
advanced technical and multimedia equipment
to ensure that students are exposed to and are
practicing both contemporary and innovative
instructional methodology.
Principles and goals identified within the Core Area
Master Plan and Advantage U of S are critical to the
University attaining the goals outlined in the Strategic
Directions. The Core Area Master Plan is “designed to
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
support the strategic directions of the University and
its stewardship responsibility to protect and enrich
an amazing public asset”. The Advantage U of S
Foundational Document is premised on the need to create an ICT-rich environment for teaching, learning, and
research and an effective and reliable ICT infrastructure
to meet our institutional requirements.
We have made significant progress in each of these
areas over the last several years. New buildings and
new facilities have been added in critical parts of the
University. But as fast as these projects are completed
(or at least launched) others emerge. Part of the reason
for the constant pressure is the age of our campus and
the backlog of deferred maintenance that we, and our
sister institutions across the country, must carry. Part of
the pressure also comes from the incredible expansion
in research activity (based largely on the success of our
faculty members) and the need to meet information
technology demands emanating from students, staff,
and faculty.
To help cope with these increasing demands, new
managerial processes have been introduced at both the
unit and University levels. Some of these are discussed
below, along with the further changes that are required
to ensure a consistent and responsible approach to
renewing our physical and informational resources.
Also outlined below are major projects that the Board
of Governors has endorsed and projects that are anticipated in support of this University-level plan.
Governance Model for Major Projects
Several key steps are being undertaken to assure close
linkage between the multi-year plan in establishing
institutional priorities for major projects and infrastructure improvements. In keeping with the Integrated
Planning initiative and the desire to have the Strategic
Directions inform major academic project planning
activities, a new governance model for major projects
has been adopted. The governance model will apply to
both major capital building projects and major information system projects. A member of the President’s
Executive Committee now serves as executive sponsor
for all major projects. This senior administrator chairs a
Steering Committee for each project in order to assure
coordination and oversight of projects from a broad
institutional perspective.
Work is underway on development of a new process
for the ongoing assessment of priorities for major
projects. Major project priorities will be established
by PCIP with advice from Council and administration
prior to approval by the Board of Governors. Following
the recent reorganization of Council committees, the
Planning and Budget Committees are currently considering Council’s role in review and provision of advice
on academic implications of major capital projects.
Council input into the institutional process for establishing priorities for major capital projects is essential. In
collaboration with the Facilities Management Division,
the Integrated Planning Office will assume primary
responsibility for the assembly of information required
for PCIP and Council consideration. A senior facilities
planning officer from Facilities Management will be
assigned to work closely with the Integrated Planning
Office to support major facilities planning activities for
PCIP. Approval of all major projects will be dependent
on identification of appropriate funding sources for
structures, equipment, and support for ongoing operations. These steps will assure that the development of
major projects will be closely linked to the institution’s
academic and strategic priorities over this planning
cycle.
Major Building Projects
Over the course of this planning cycle a number of
major building and information system projects currently underway will be completed and will come on
stream in the form of new facilities and infrastructure.
Others will be initiated or are in the early planning
stages and will progress during this cycle but will not
be available prior to 2006-07.
The following major building projects will be completed
during this planning cycle:
College Building: Physical restoration of the College
Building initiated in 2002 with occupancy of the building projected for the fall of 2005.
Thorvaldson Building (1924 Wing) and Engineering
Building: The final phase of this project, consisting
primarily of the upgrading of the original 1924 wing
of the Thorvaldson Building for the Department of
Computer Science and of the renovation of space in the
Engineering Building for the Department of Chemical
Engineering, will be completed in January of 2005.
Stadium Parkade: The construction of this 866 stall, 5
level Parking Structure will be ready for use in the fall
of 2004.
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
37
Preston Avenue Widening/Preston Entrance: With
widening of Preston Avenue from Circle Drive to 14th
Street a new traffic entrance along the east side of
campus will be developed as outlined in the Core Area
Master Plan. The project will be completed in the fall of
2004 in collaboration with the City of Saskatoon.
Expanded Pulse Research Infrastructure – Crop
Development Centre (Phase One): An addition to the
Crop Science Field Lab will be developed to accommodate the Crop Development Centre’s pulse research program. Building costs will be borne by the Saskatchewan
Pulse Growers with operating costs absorbed by the
College of Agriculture. The project will be completed by
the summer of 2005.
University Neighborhood -Residence Building
Program: The development of additional student housing will assist the University in addressing a current
backlog in the provision of student housing and will
also assist the University in recruiting and retaining
undergraduate and graduate students, both national and
international. Pending a thorough financial analysis and
business plan, proposed occupancy for Phase One is the
fall of 2006.
Primary Heath Care Centre: A collaborative effort
between the University of Saskatchewan, the Saskatoon
Health Region (SHR), and the Department of Health
will establish a community-based clinic within the City
of Saskatoon that will house the Department of Family
Medicine, designated Saskatoon Health Board programs,
and other U of S and SHR programs, as identified. The
project involves the purchase and renovation of the
former Union Centre to accommodate the specified
programs by early 2005.
Aboriginal Student Space: Planning and consultation
for the development of Aboriginal Student Space is well
advanced with a Steering Committee to be finalized
shortly. Funds for this initial development have been
provided through a significant donation from NOVA
Chemicals. A specific project proposal is currently being
developed for consideration.
CFI – Canadian Light Source - Biomedical Beamline:
An addition to the existing CLS facility will be constructed to accommodate a new biomedical beamline
that successfully received funding within the latest
round of CFI awards. The project is to be completed by
the summer of 2007.
38
The following are major building projects expected to
begin construction during this planning cycle. These
projects arise from opportunities generated by successful research applications, dedicated provincial priorities,
and the consequences of other building projects.
Academic Health Sciences Centre: The Academic
Health Sciences Centre is a facility to be dedicated to
public service, interdisciplinary education, and innovative research. The facility will provide enhanced instructional space and will be linked directly to the integration of learning, research, and health-care practice. The
project involves both the construction of new space
as well as renovations to existing facilities that would
result in: Student Teaching and Instructional Space
(3,110 m2 total), Research and Office Space (5,561
m2 ), Central Learner Space (1,206 m2), Instructional
Resource Centre (2,096m2), Aboriginal Program Space
(Planning in progress).
Estimated Phase One Capital Cost: $120 million
Potential Occupants: College of Medicine, College
of Nursing, School of Physical Therapy, College
of Dentistry, College of Pharmacy and Nutrition,
University Library.
Final drawings and contract documentation are to be
completed by spring of 2007 with construction slated to
begin in the summer of 2007.
Williams Building/Kirk Hall – Humanities and Social
Sciences Development/University Initiatives: The
Humanities and Social Science departments within
the College of Arts and Science suffer not only from a
critical shortage of teaching, research, and office space
but much of the existing space is of low quality and
dispersed amongst several buildings across campus.
This project encompasses infrastructure and system
upgrades, the addressing of code and regulatory issues,
accessibility and fire code, and occupancy improvements to the Williams Building and Kirk Hall with a
resulting increase in both the quantity and quality of
space for the College of Arts and Science and other
institutional initiatives resulting from the Integrated
Planning process. Internal campus shifts involving
the Williams Building and Kirk Hall will provide the
University with a development and expansion opportunity for several institutional priorities including the
Humanities and Social Sciences. Pending the availability
of capital funds, the first stage of improvements and
space moves are expected to occur in 2005/2006.
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
WCVM Expansion: In order to meet national and international accreditation standards, a proposal has been
developed to undertake extensive building additions
and revitalization projects for the Western College of
Veterinary Medicine. This project stems from a Federal
Government infrastructure program to assist Canadian
Veterinary Colleges with accreditation issues. Additional
project development is required for the teaching program and an Incinerator facility. Construction will begin
in fall 2004 with project completion expected in spring
of 2008.
CFI – INTERVAC (International Vaccine Testing
Centre): With the recently announced funding from
CFI in the amount of $19 million, the University of
Saskatchewan is poised to construct and operate an
International Vaccine Testing Centre (INTERVAC)
for use in Canadian and International bio-research
programs. The facility has an estimated project cost of
$62,000,000 and will notably include a Level III biocontainment capability adequate for work with large
mammals. The project will be a partnership between
VIDO, the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, the
College of Medicine and other collaborative agencies.
An integral component of the Integrated Planning
process will be the allocation of resources required
for the University and colleges to meet their approved
mandates. The Enrolment Plan also provides direction
for campus growth. The provision of physical resources
that are necessary for program maintenance, expansion, or renewal will be critical to the success of the
University’s strategic goals. Several capital projects and
space reallocation exercises are anticipated in order to
provide proper facilities for these strategic initiatives
(e.g. Learning Centre, New Media Centre, Aboriginal
Education Research Centre, Global/International
Commons, Toxicology Centre, School of Public Policy)
and these will be expected to take a high priority in
planning and development over the planning period.
The following projects have been identified in this plan
for development and prioritization during the First
Planning Cycle:
Global Commons: Highlighted elsewhere in this plan is
“the establishment of a Global Commons to coordinate
all student-related international activities.” The facility
should be a part of an open, friendly, space shared with
complementary activities.
Athabasca Hall, Saskatchewan Hall, Qu’Appelle Hall
and Addition – Campus Core Revitalization: Pending
a final planning, operational, and financial strategy for
the development of new student residence and food service facilities at the University, there is the potential for
several campus core buildings to become available for
reallocation. These facilities would allow the University
to revitalize and upgrade these structures to provide
functional space for much-need academic, student
service and administrative demands.
The development of additional
The buildings would
student housing will assist
require upgrading to
mechanical, electrical,
the University in addressing a
and communication
current backlog in the provision
systems as well as
of student housing and will also
accessibility and occuassist the University in recruiting
pancy improvements.
Potential buildings
and retaining undergraduate and
include Saskatchewan
graduate students, both national
Hall, Qu’Appelle Hall
and international.
and Addition, Marquis
Hall, and Athabasca
Hall.
Aboriginal Space on Campus: Additional facilities
will be required to meet the objectives outlined in the
Aboriginal Foundational Document in order to provide
academic and student-based facilities for the campus
Aboriginal community. These spaces can be developed
collectively, independently, or as opportunistic components within new capital projects.
New Learning Centre, Academic Skills Centre,
and University Main Library Transformation: The
University Library has identified the need to transform
and revitalize the Main Library. The proposed project
would involve physical renovations to the existing
Library that would result in the Library becoming “the
most vibrant academic space on campus”. The project
will entail a series of internal renovations within the
Main Library that would create a student-centered
“Academic Skills Centre” and consolidate Special
Collections and University Archives to develop a
scholar-focused centre for research. Part of this transformation may also include renovations to house the
Learning Centre described in this plan. The proposal
will also evaluate the creation of on-campus high
density storage facility for library and archival material.
This project has been accepted by the University as one
of its priorities for the Capital Campaign.
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
39
School of Public Policy: Highlighted in this Integrated
Plan is a proposal for the establishment of a School
of Public Policy. Requirements for the School will be
developed during this planning cycle.
inventory and condition audits conducted by external
experts and analyzed with state-of-the-art capital
planning management systems, the current backlog of
deferred maintenance at the University of Saskatchewan
is $118 million. Like other major institutions, the ability
of the University of Saskatchewan to seriously address
the deferred maintenance challenge would require significant support outside our traditional funding sources.
Facilities enhancements for Chairs: In addition to
awarding the remaining Canada Research Chairs this
plan includes the establishment of five new University
of Saskatchewan Chairs. A priority will be placed on
meeting the facilities and computing infrastructure
requirements for these new positions.
University Infrastructure Needs
Other Potential Major Projects
While the above list is already substantial, it may grow
over the planning cycle if a number of potential projects
that are under preliminary consideration are further
developed. These projects arise from a number of
sources including the colleges themselves; for example,
an addition to the College of Law may be contemplated
to support the college’s teaching activity and transform
the Library facility. The University’s Capital Campaign
may result in support for University-wide opportunities
such as a Fine and Performing Arts Complex identified
as a high priority for development by the College of Arts
and Science. While the addition of the Saskatchewan
Lecture Theatre Complex is not anticipated during
this planning cycle, the need for such a facility may
emerge from the review of programs and development
of the Teaching and Learning Foundational Document.
Initiatives to enhance our research activities and expand
research capacity may emerge during this cycle as well
as a project entitled University Services Building, which
has been approved to address code and regulatory
compliance orders. In virtually all cases, it is expected
that these planning initiatives will require partnership
funding and a thorough review and prioritization under
the new governance and priority setting process identified above.
Deferred Maintenance
Deferred maintenance refers to cyclical renewal
(annual operating and major maintenance for systems,
equipment, and components of buildings; and utility
infrastructure) that has become overdue. Under-funding
annual operation and maintenance and cyclical renewal
has led to a significant deferred maintenance problem
at the University that is by no means unique. Canadian
universities have an accumulated backlog of deferred
maintenance liability of $3.6 billion. Based on detailed
40
As the University continues to construct new buildings
on campus and add space to its existing inventory, it
will be necessary to provide a corresponding build-up of
infrastructure to support and service the new building
complement. An Infrastructure Master Plan will identify
and strategically determine the required projects including a Boiler Replacement (increased heating capacity),
Electrical Substation Expansion (increased electrical
capacity), and a new Chiller Addition (increased cooling
capacity), amongst several other projects.
ICT Systems Renewal
Over the past two years we have invested substantially
in technology infrastructure in support of teaching and
learning. We have made excellent progress in meeting
the computing needs of our students, in both collegebased and open-access laboratories, and are expanding
our support for those students who bring their own
computers to campus. We have also continued to work
to bring our learning spaces up to contemporary standards— by providing multimedia technology, improving
the physical environment, and installing network connections.
The renewal of our campus computer network (the
USR-net project) is an ICT infrastructure project of
unprecedented scale. Although the project has been
designed to meet the expanding needs of researchers
for fast, secure, transfer of high volumes of data, it will
bring substantial benefits to everyone on campus, both
in improving support for existing networking services
and by providing us with the capacity to introduce new
services anticipated over the next decade. Completion
of the work is expected by the spring of 2005.
We are also committed to the renewal of our core
administrative support systems (the Si!, UniFi, and
AboutUS projects) and to the delivery of integrated,
role-based, on-line services to our customers, both
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
within and outside the University. These new systems
will provide exciting new functions and services, and
the powerful workflow and integration tools that come
with these products will enable the interoperability
we require and help us achieve the cross-functional
services that our users demand. Over the course of
this planning cycle, we will develop a proposal for an
enhanced library information system. In addition to
new functionality, these projects also offer both opportunity and incentive for us to change the way we do
some things. Indeed, our ability to realize the full value
of our substantial investments in these new systems
will be seriously compromised if we do not seize this
opportunity. We must be prepared to change both what
we do and how we do it, and we are actively working
with stakeholders, often through advisory groups to
manage the change process for everybody’s benefit.
The following is a summary of a number of the major
ICT projects that are underway during this planning
cycle:
USR-net: Full-scale renewal of the campus computer
network began in 2002 with completion projected for
the spring of 2005. 80% of the $15M project cost is
covered by funding from external sources, including
CFI, the Province, and our vendor partners. This will
enable us to provide much better support for current
services and to introduce new services such as internet
telephony and desktop video-conferencing.
Si!: The implementation of our new student information system began in the fall of 2003, with the first
service, support for admissions, scheduled to be available in the fall of 2004. The full range of new services is
expected to be available by the end of 2005.
UniFi: The implementation of our new financial information system began in the fall of 2003 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2004.
PAWS: Our new campus portal was officially released
in March of 2004, but it has been in use by students
and faculty since September of 2003. PAWS provides a
powerful vehicle for integrated delivery of a wide range
of services supporting academic, administrative and
personal needs.
F. Measuring our Progress
Over the course of this planning cycle, the University
of Saskatchewan, through the Council and its committees, the Board of Governors, and the administration,
will develop key measures to assess our progress
against the goals outlined in the Strategic Directions,
the Foundational Documents, and the key priorities and
initiatives outlined in this Integrated Plan. In so doing,
as members of the University community, we recognize
that many of our activities are not easily quantifiable,
nor should they be quantified. There is a danger that
the inappropriate use of data will distort academic judgment, or permit selective portrayal of our activities so as
to protect decisions from critical evaluation. Data must
be collected and employed intelligently so that the large
part judgment plays in academic decision making can
be exercised responsibly. This is best assured by taking
academic decisions in a collegial setting where standards have been debated and agreed upon. Evidence,
whether in the form of SPR results, or data on graduate
student enrolment, or various forms of performance
indicators, or qualitative measures, will never substitute
for judgment. But they are critical aids to the exercise
of judgment. As Integrated Planning develops, and a
culture of assessment develops with it, all decisionmaking entities will make greater use of data to inform
decisions and evaluate progress.
Five ways to measure and report progress to the
University community and to the province over this
planning cycle are identified below. All of these methods will require the close cooperation and collaboration
of the University Council, the Board of Governors, and
the senior administration of the University to be realized.
Responsibility Assignments for
Implementation of the Integrated Plan
This Integrated Plan contains an ambitious set of concrete programmatic, managerial, and organizational
objectives. It is imperative that locus of responsibility is
identified and progress on each initiative is monitored.
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
41
Following plan approval, the Provost’s Committee on
Integrated Planning (PCIP) and the Integrated Planning
Office will prepare and distribute a grid identifying
specific initiatives and commitments within the plan, as
well as the person(s)/portfolio(s) responsible for implementing the projects or achieving efficiencies and cost
savings over the planning cycle. In each area, timelines
will be identified and
As Integrated Planning develops,
established. PCIP will
also prepare and disand a culture of assessment
tribute, over the May
develops with it, all decision– June 2004 period,
making entities will make
a set of ‘planning
greater use of data to inform
parameters’ to colleges
and administrative
decisions and evaluate progress.
units highlighting
expectations associated with programming, administrative changes, enrolment, research, and financial
implications. PCIP’s work in this respect will be greatly
assisted by building on the strong working relationship
established with Council committees, particularly the
Planning Committee and its subcommittee, the CPRC,
throughout this planning process. In addition to seeking
advice and approval from the governing bodies of the
University, PCIP will report periodically to University
Council, the Board, and Senate on progress towards
implementation of this Integrated Plan and it will share
these reports with the University community at large.
Performance Measures
Determining the success of the University’s planning
initiatives necessitates timely and accurate information
as well as a system of measurement. The Institutional
Analysis Office, under the supervision of the Assistant
Provost Planning and Analysis, is well advanced in
the development of a central information resource
for Integrated Planning and other institutional data
requirements/needs. This institutional data warehouse, called iDat, ties together information from
all major administrative systems at the University of
Saskatchewan. When completed, iDat will provide
the University with an analytical tool whose modeling
capabilities will accommodate in-depth analysis in a
timely fashion. The first phase of iDat, concentrating on
student demographic information, will be operational
early in this planning cycle.
Building on the Key Activity Indicators provided by
Institutional Analysis for this planning cycle, a set
of composite indicators to assess institution level
42
progress with the Strategic Directions and the broad
goals embodied in the Integrated Plan is also under
development. Institutional Analysis is currently assessing the feasibility of developing a series of indexes
which would provide a more comprehensive overview
of performance measures associated with the Strategic
Directions. For example, measuring the goal of increasing research intensity on campus will require a more
holistic approach than just reporting on Tri-Council
funding. Institutional Analysis seeks to develop a
‘Research Intensity Index’ that captures the measurement of changes in sponsored research and outputs
such as publications, performances, or presentations,
and other scholarly and artistic activities.
Benchmarking
Benchmarking is understood here to mean the conscious
comparison of our progress on specific indicators with
the position and progress of peer institutions. At the
University level, the work of the G10 universities, a selfselected group of research intensive institutions (which
does not include the University of Saskatchewan,
nor, for example, the University of Victoria, Calgary,
Manitoba, Guelph, or Memorial) offers a starting point
for discussion. Their performance indicators, and the
comparative data assembled to inform these indicators,
will be important for the University of Saskatchewan
as it builds its own benchmark methodology. Another
important component, described in the Research
Foundational Document approved by Council in January
2004, will be the identification of a set of areas of academic pre-eminence for the University of Saskatchewan.
As this process unfolds over the next twelve months
(under the leadership of the Vice-President Research and
the Research Committee of Council), it will need to be
closely connected to the University-level ‘benchmark’
process envisioned in the Integrated Plan.
To further develop both the performance measures and
benchmarking initiatives, a Performance Measurement
Task Force will be established. The Task Force will be
informed by advice from University Council, Deans
Council, Department Heads, and Administrative Unit
Heads. The Task Force will have the following objectives:
• Identify a limited number of institutionally
appropriate performance measures by which to
assess progress toward the objectives identified in
this plan.
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
• Report to the University community and update the
Board of Governors on progress with development
of these performance measures.
• Identify a set of peer universities for the application
of benchmark comparisons at the University level.
• Report benchmarks to the University community by
June 2006, potentially utilizing the work of the G10
universities mentioned above.
In addition to this initiative taken at the Universitylevel, colleges and administrative units will be encouraged through the ‘planning parameters’ to benchmark,
wherever possible, against a relevant peer group for the
next round of multi-year plans. While no restrictions
have been placed on the creation of a given peer group,
it is expected that by the next planning cycle, colleges
and administrative units will provide comparative data
based on national or international peer groups to assist
in assessing performance.
Integration of Assessment
Presently, assessment activities such as the SPR process, reviews of non-academic units (e.g. the Registrar’s
Office/Student Services –ROSS– project), occasional
reviews commissioned by the Provost’s Office (e.g.,
the review of the Gwenna Moss Teaching and Learning
Centre and the upcoming review of the Library) and
institution-wide student surveys, are undertaken in
various parts of our campus, but the results are neither
communicated broadly, nor are they systematically
integrated into planning and budgeting activities. As
the operations of our institution are examined, it follows that evaluative activities would be consolidated
and streamlined, where appropriate. At the very least,
a database and repository for reviews and surveys of
all types should be made available centrally, and the
results of these activities should be readily accessible
and widely communicated.
Assessment in a higher education context is designed
to gather information on the success of a particular
program, course, service, or function. Central to the
notion of assessment are issues of quality, improvement, accountability, and transparency. Following up
on the work of SPR, it is appropriate that the University
examine how to improve all of its programs, activities,
and services and reflect on its definition of high quality
educational programs and experiences. The University
needs to determine whether its academic and nonacademic programs have explicit objectives and desired
outcomes and whether these are being achieved. This,
in turn, will allow the campus community to examine
what we do, why we do it and whether it aligns with
institutional goals. Such an approach will almost certainly require the University to broaden its approach to
assessment.
As the completion of the first SPR cycle approaches, the
SPR process will be reviewed with a view to examining
how the lessons learned from the review of academic
programs might be applied to the research, teaching
and learning, and service functions of University. In
conjunction with this review the feasibility of coordinating assessment activities on campus will also be
examined. This might be accomplished through the
creation of an Office of Institutional Assessment under
the supervision of the Assistant Provost Planning and
Analysis. It is envisioned that such a group would serve
the University community in the following ways:
• Facilitate, consult, and provide leadership for
institutional assessment activities. Such a unit
could provide information on best practices of
assessment methods as well as assist units to create
and implement focused assessment projects.
• Communicate assessment results to the University
community as well as to the wider civic and
provincial communities.
• Function as a central repository for assessment
activities (academic program reviews, student
surveys, administrative and research unit reviews,
etc.) on campus. This would allow the University
community to be well informed about the range
and types of assessment activities that occur on
campus and the results of these activities would
inform planning and budget decisions.
Evaluation of Integrated
Planning Itself
Over the coming months, PCIP, in collaboration with
University Council and ACIP, and assisted by the
Integrated Planning Office, will conduct an informal
review of the Integrated Planning process to date. Our
intent is to determine what has worked well, identify
problem areas, enumerate unexpected consequences,
and refine the process for upcoming planning cycles.
Comparisons with planning processes at other appropriate institutions in Canada and elsewhere will continue
to be a key feature of the University’s Integrated
Planning Initiative.
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
43
G. Changing Structures
The prolonged introspection required under Integrated
Planning has provided new insights into the strengths
and weaknesses of our academic and administrative structures. The current arrangements have, with
few exceptions, been in place for more than three
decades, and their capacity to impede change has
become increasingly evident. Loyalties run deep at the
University of Saskatchewan; this has been a strength of
the institution. Faculty and staff feel very strong ties to
their departments, units, divisions, and colleges.
Over time, however, this attachment to existing arrangements can become so important that the status quo
often takes precedence over responding to our students,
our research potential, and our province. Some departments claim faculty positions with such a tenacity that
they approach the planning process with what amounts
to essentially restorative (i.e. adding back resources
that have been removed over the past decade) or
incremental (i.e. small additions to the existing base)
requests. It is vital that our planning and our perspectives shift, and that we focus first on what is needed
to best serve our students and on our broad research
agenda. Reproducing the faculty and financial allocations entrenched over the past forty years cannot be our
top priority.
One way to approach this problem, and other problems
associated with the pace of academic change, is to
closely examine existing structures. This kind of examination can be frustrating, but the Integrated Planning
process has produced enough interest in transformative
change from enough participants that an examination
of basic structural assumptions seems warranted. Over
this planning cycle the University community should
engage in a thorough consideration of its existing structural arrangements with the expectation that changes
can be introduced as the next cycle is underway. As
a starting point, the following areas deserve consideration:
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Interdisciplinary Programming
Integrated Planning brought to the fore a number of
suggestions for new interdisciplinary units. Whether
they are called Schools, Centres, Institutes, Groups, or
Commons, each contains a desire for more flexibility
in program development and delivery. These ideas
join other intellectual, professional, and programmatic
trends which are not well-reflected in our current
administrative structure. The academic world has
moved significantly beyond the concepts, ideas, and
assumptions that underlay the initial development
of our college system. Synergies and partnerships
are developing on the research front that extend far
beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries. The need
for cooperation, in health studies for example, places
imperatives on our programming that cannot be easily
captured within the existing departmental and college
structure. At the moment, however, we do not have
proper administrative arrangements to support and
sustain interdisciplinary activity. As a result, most of
our interdisciplinary initiatives are under-funded, poorly
administered, and vulnerable to criticism (as SPR
reports have amply demonstrated).
Faculty Appointments
Discussion around faculty appointments, and the
expectations associated with them, has focused recently
on the teacher-scholar model. Debate about the soundness and applicability of this model will undoubtedly
continue as the Complement Plan is put together.
This Plan is likely to propose different kinds of faculty
appointments including genuine joint appointments
and appointments to units other than departments and
colleges. The flexibility that such an appointment structure would provide is desperately needed if we are to
make the most of research groups and interdisciplinary
initiatives. Obviously it is critical that any innovation in
this area protect the academic interests of faculty and
ensure that the tenure and promotion process is fair and
equitable.
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
Raise the Profile of Student Issues
The University’s governance structure does not provide
an adequate opportunity to discuss a broad range of
student issues or hear from students regarding their
concerns. Student attendance at Council committees,
including those committees where discussions critical
to student interests take place, is uneven at best. The
University is in the process of implementing a number
of new systems (as a result of the Si! Project and the
Banner Financial System) which will have considerable
impact on students and may require us to change our
policies. To ensure that we hear the student perspective
on these issues, University Council should consider
amending its committee system to permit the creation
of a forum in which the consideration of a broad set of
undergraduate student issues, such as the adequacy of
academic advising, the application of fees, residence
and transportation concerns, computing priorities, and
student aid policies can take place. Currently these
issues are dealt with in a myriad of forums (not all
of them associated with Council) rather than in one
Council-sponsored committee dedicated to improving the quality of the undergraduate experience. This
innovation would provide a real opportunity to engage
undergraduate students in issues that are of most interest and concern to them. In addition, University Council
and the College of Graduate Studies and Research may
wish to develop a similar forum for graduate students,
and, most importantly, consider a new structure which
would determine the final authority for decisions
related to graduate programs.
College Configuration
For many years, there have been discussions about the
number and nature of the colleges at the University
of Saskatchewan. We have a large number of colleges
(13) given the size and nature of our campus. We have
sub-college units, particularly in the College of Arts and
Science, that our significantly bigger and more diverse
than several of the smaller colleges. The current division of labour among our administrative units raises
questions about equal voice and potential influence.
Parts of the campus are rarely heard from because they
do not have a status sufficient to ensure their member-
ship on key Administrative or Council Committees.
While there is undoubtedly a need for colleges to
organize certain features of our academic life, it is not
clear that all the colleges need to organize as much as
they do at present, or exist in their current form. It is no
longer clear, as well, that all of them require the existing configuration of departments (or any departments
at all). There are several options available to us, many
of which would provide administrative efficiencies,
improvements to interdisciplinary studies, and synergies
in research and professional activities.
Academic-Administrative
Cooperation
There is always a danger in academic institutions that
those without academic appointments will be automatically regarded as less critical to the operation of the
institution than full-time professors. Yet it is obvious
that the core work of the University cannot proceed
without highly professional support. And the support
we enjoy at the University of Saskatchewan is professional and becoming more so. It is important, therefore,
that any structural changes introduced provide means
of breaking down barriers to the effective collaboration of faculty and staff. Innovations like the Global
Commons, discussed above, will work best when
academic and administrative roles are connected and
to some degree shared. Many academics are administrators, and many administrators have a thorough
appreciation of academic norms. A more professional
partnership, respectful of roles and responsibilities, is in
everyone’s interest.
In sum, the University needs to stand back from its
traditional alignments and arrangements and determine
if the current structures, and the cultures they help
reproduce, properly reflect the needs and aspirations of
the University of Saskatchewan. While it is clear that
most of our academic units will continue to be organized along disciplinary lines, and that existing roles
will not change radically, it is also obvious that we need
new arrangements to reflect the multi-disciplinary and
inter-disciplinary nature of our work, and an inclusive,
respectful, culture in which everyone’s contribution
is valued. Tradition, if not moderated by attention to
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
45
contemporary trends, becomes an anchor rather than a
foundation for innovation.
The University of Saskatchewan must be prepared to
consider and accept significant change in our administrative and academic structures. These changes must
originate with a careful evaluation of how best to implement the priorities established in the Strategic Directions
and Foundational Documents, and must be aligned
with the spending priorities and decisions outlined
in this Integrated Plan. And they must be considered
changes, addressing the long-term programmatic and
research needs of the University of Saskatchewan.
Beginning with the understanding that no existing
structure—administrative or academic, departmental or
college—is sacred, the University must reconfigure itself
for the 21st century.
sider the academic and administrative structures and
processes of the University. We undertake this with
a strong commitment to meaningful and productive
reorganization, and not with a view to change for the
sake of change. We will conduct our review mindful
of the need to consult broadly with a wide variety of
campus groups and in the knowledge that some initiatives may require reconsideration of the University of
Saskatchewan Act (1995). While we anticipate that the
review process will be completed over the 2004/05 academic year, with a report to the University community
in 2005 or early 2006, some initial steps, consistent with
this Integrated Plan, will be undertaken over the course
of the 2004/05 academic year. This applies particularly
to the concept of “Schools” and the opportunity this
concept would afford us to engage in effective interdisciplinary programming.
Commencing in 2004, the Provost’s Office will work
with the University Council to examine and re-con-
Conclusion
This Integrated Plan, the first ever for the University
of Saskatchewan, outlines future directions for the
University and provides a ‘framework for action’ for the
first planning cycle (2003/04 to 2006/07). It focuses on
change, collaboration, and community as hallmarks for
the University’s future. It identifies the new rather than
the established, the interdisciplinary rather than the
disciplinary, and the larger environment rather than the
specifically academic as key to our collective future. It is
deliberately selective, privileging some initiatives, many
of which originated in college and administrative unit
plans, over others, and uses the opportunity afforded
by Integrated Planning to integrate initiatives where
colleges and units may not yet have been able to do so.
This plan represents the framework for the work ahead.
It must be understood, however, that this plan presumes that the plans of the colleges and administrative
units will all be advanced during this cycle. Most of
these plans are aimed at extending the excellent work
we are currently doing, and that is as it should be.
Many established programs serve us very well --our
disciplines are our ultimate strengths-- and we have no
46
contribution to make to our community if we neglect
the core academic mission. The focus on change, collaboration, and community can only occur because we
already have a strong core of people and programs in
many areas of this University. This plan, the Strategic
Directions and the Foundational Documents that it
builds on, presumes that these core strengths will
continue to define us and be available to us as we make
some necessary changes.
This plan should be considered a ‘work in progress’;
it is a means to an end, not an end in itself. It will
become manifest only through commitment and creativity, considerable additional hard work, discussion, and
debate over the coming months and years. By committing to this plan, we impose on ourselves several
fundamental challenges:
• Faculty must renew, maintain, re-dedicate, and
advance their personal commitment to excellence in
teaching, research, and public service.
• Academic and administrative staff must strive to
bring their full professional skills and training to
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
bear on the needs of the University as an institution
of higher learning.
• Students must increase their diligence and vigor to
ensure that they are getting the very best they can
out of their University of Saskatchewan experience.
• University Council, including its committees,
must actively participate in the approval of new
structures to support the initiatives described in
this plan and evaluate new programs through
close examination and, where necessary, assist in
fashioning them in ways that ensure quality.
• The faculty and academic staff must maintain and
devise programs and processes that elicit their best
efforts, respect the priorities in this plan, and reflect
honorably on this University.
• Leadership at all levels in the University must
provide direction, encouragement, and support to
permit excellence to prevail.
• The Board of Governors and the senior
administration of the University must work to
identify resources to support the initiatives outlined
in this plan. While ownership of the plan is broadly
shared, accountability for its success needs to be
felt keenly by those who are formally charged
with administrative responsibilities, particularly
members of senior administration.
The University of Saskatchewan is a public institution, one of enormous importance to the future of the
Province of Saskatchewan and to the future of the people of Saskatchewan. The University of Saskatchewan
cannot implement this plan without support from its
external community, and particularly from the people of
Saskatchewan. In this respect, the Integrated Plan is an
attempt to engage the people of Saskatchewan with the
University and the University with the people, to forecast how we can be of greatest service and provide the
greatest benefit to Saskatchewan, to Canada, and the
world. The challenge for the people of Saskatchewan
is to ensure that they are aware of all of the opportunities the University provides for their families and for
themselves, that they recognize and seize upon the
significant role that the University of Saskatchewan is
playing and can play in their lives and in the future of
the Province. With the help and support of the citizens
of this province, with their active participation and
interest in our collective future, with the participation
and support of government and other funding partners,
the University of Saskatchewan can, and will, be a driving force for prosperity and growth for Saskatchewan.
The next plan is not too far away to contemplate. It
will undoubtedly build on the lessons of this one and
add new dimensions. Integrated Planning is not an
episode, although there are a number of events that
mark its progress. It is a way of conducting ourselves as
a community that wants to set priorities, have collective
goals, and meet the future head on. It is time for us to
move forward, to make the changes required to place
the University of Saskatchewan among the most distinguished universities in Canada and the world.
For an electronic copy of this Plan, related documents, and more
information about Integrated Planning and the University of
Saskatchewan’s 2003–07 multi-year operating budget framework, go to:
www.usask.ca/vpacademic/integrated-planning
A Framework for Action: University of Saskatchewan Integrated Plan 2003–07
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